privately held company

A company in which a small group of shareholders control all of the shares. These shareholders tend to hold onto the company's stock and, in any case, no shares are publicly traded. Privately held companies are, by their nature, impervious to hostile takeovers and proxy wars. They tend to be more stable than other companies because their share prices are not determined by (sometimes irrational) investment decisions, but by the value of the company itself. However, privately held companies do not have access to as much working capital as corporations with more shareholders have. See also: Closely Held.