1. A company whose shares are not publicly traded on a stock market. Such companies usually have less restrictive reporting requirements than publicly traded companies.
  2. A company which is not owned by the government (state owned).

In contrast, see the entry for a publicly traded company. Our complete guide to choosing your business structure is good further reading if you are trying to decide how to set up your new business.

Bplans GlossaryBplans Glossary

At Bplans, it's our goal to make it easy for you to start and run your business. The Bplans glossary of common business terms will help you learn about key small business and entrepreneurship topics.