how does ownership of a private company differ from a public company 
public companies are the opposite of private companies ownership of public companies is divided into shares which are sold to the public this is first done through an ipo once that is complete the shares of a public company are sold on the secondary market through stock exchanges a public company s equity is held by insiders and outside investors the bottom linemany global companies are private including ikea ernst young and x the company s owner or owners retain control and aren t subject to scrutiny from regulators these companies however cannot raise money through capital markets to fund their growth or pay their debts their shares are not sold to the public 