From the course: Finance Strategies for Business Leaders

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Going public or staying private

Going public or staying private

- There are two kinds of companies out there in the world, public companies and private companies. The choice to take a company public or remain private is one of the most important decisions that finance and business leaders ever have to make. There are two big important distinctions between private and public companies. Public companies can be owned by anyone in the general public. When they buy that public stock, they are buying a piece of the company. And it's a great way for shareholders and early investors to cash out and make money. But there are also risks. If too much stock is out there in the world, someone could scoop up enough shares to have the voting power to run the company. When this happens, it's called a hostile takeover, and it's one of the biggest fears of someone who has founded the company and might be its leader. Imagine it, one day, you're running the company that you built, and the next day,…

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