A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be further divided into public companies and private companies. Who may become a member of a private limited company is restricted by law and by the company's rules. In contrast anyone may buy shares in a public limited company.
Limited companies can be found in most countries, although the detailed rules governing them vary widely. It is also common for a distinction to be made between the publicly tradable companies of plc type (for example, the German Aktiengesellschaft (AG), Czech a.s. and the Mexican, French, Polish and Romanian S.A.), and the "private" types of company (such as the German GmbH, Polish Sp. z o.o., the Czech s.r.o. and Slovak s.r.o.).
Famous quotes containing the words limited and/or company:
“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“In common with other rural regions much of the Iowa farm lore concerns the coming of company. When the rooster crows in the doorway, or the cat licks his fur, company is on the way.”
—For the State of Iowa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)