
The Blurring Lines between Private and Public Ownership
Public versus private status is a common point of differentiation among companies and can determine, for example, how they are regulated and who can invest in them. Yet many private companies increasingly resemble their public counterparts. This blurring of the lines between public and private has been gradual, and in a new paper, I focus on three areas in which it has occurred: firms’ sources of capital, governance structures, and reliance on acquisitions to fuel growth.
First, there is growing overlap between public and private firms’ sources of capital. Private firms have traditionally been owned by founders and angel investors, … Read more