Going Private Transaction

Practical Law Glossary Item 9-382-3514 (Approx. 3 pages)

Glossary

Going Private Transaction

A public company "goes private" when it completes a transaction (or series of transactions) with the result that it is no longer required to file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can deregister its equity securities. A company can also go private when a class of its equity securities is no longer listed on a recognized securities exchange.

Several transactions can result in a company going private, including:

Tender offers.
Mergers.
Stock purchases.

The most common types of going private transactions are:

Acquisitions by a controlling stockholder of a subsidiary with publicly traded shares (these transactions are also commonly referred to as squeeze-out mergers).
Acquisitions by a significant but non-controlling stockholder.
Leveraged buyouts by a private equity fund or other third-party acquiror working with management.

For more information on going private transactions, see the following Practice Notes:

Going Private Transaction | Practical Law