Closely held company

This one is not written up yet

The definition above is the short version. A full explanation — how it works, a worked example and the exam traps — is still being written. In the meantime the chapter below covers it in context.

Written up from the same chapter

• Authorised capitalThe maximum amount of share capital a company is allowed to issue, fixed in its Memorandum of Association — a ceiling on what can be created, not money the company has.
• Corporate actionAn event initiated by a company that changes the securities it has issued — dividend, buyback, bonus, split, consolidation, rights issue or merger — and which the registrar has to execute investor by investor.
• Face valueThe denomination a company's capital is divided into and carried in its books — fixed, printed on the certificate, and the base on which dividend percentages and stock splits are computed.
• Liquidity riskThe risk of being unable to get out of a position at or near the quoted price — because the contract is bilateral, because the order book is thin, or because volumes dry up near expiry.
• Paid-up capitalThe part of the issued capital that shareholders have actually paid for — issued capital less the calls still outstanding on partly paid shares.
• Preferential issueAn issue of specified securities by a listed issuer to a select person or group on a private placement basis — excluding public, rights, bonus and ESOP issues, QIPs, sweat equity and overseas depository receipts.