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What Is An Open Corporation
An open corporation refers to a corporation that the general public can purchase its shares.
In other words, an open corporation is like saying a public corporation.
However, an open corporation does not necessarily need to trade on a stock exchange for it to be considered an “open corporation”.
Typically, every jurisdiction provides for the rules and requirements for private and public companies.
Private companies tend to have fewer regulatory complexities than public companies that are required to register with the securities regulatory bodies, provide financial reports, and make various regulatory disclosures.
A private company that issues, sells, or transfers shares in such a way that it does not respect the requirements to remain private will be considered as having offered its shares to the public.
This is the case even if the company is not registered in a stock exchange or is not intending to go public via an initial public offering (IPO).
Ultimately, an open corporation is a corporate entity that has outsiders and members of the public as shareholders.
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Types of Open Corporations
Any type of corporation can be considered an open corporation.
For instance, a professional corporation, a C-Corporation, or others can be deemed an open corporation.
The idea behind an open corporation is that anyone in the public can purchase or own shares in the corporate entity.
In this context, an open corporation is not a different type of corporation but a corporation that has sold shares to members of the public.
For example, all corporations listed on the stock exchange are open corporations as the general public can purchase shares in those entities.
However, corporations that are not listed on a stock exchange can also be considered open corporations if they issue, sell, or transfer shares to individuals or entities that are considered to be public.
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Open Corporation Advantages
There are several advantages to operating an open corporation.
The main advantage is that open corporations are able to sell shares and securities to the general public.
As a result, the business will have the ability to raise capital to fund its business operations by issuing shares to investors.
Another key advantage of open corporations is that company is generally more noticeable and recognized in the market than private companies.
Since the public can own shares in an open corporation, the company will be in a better position to build its brand equity and gain market recognition.
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Open Corporation Disadvantages
Although an open corporation can offer various advantages, it’s important to be mindful of the disadvantages as well.
The most important disadvantage is that open corporations are typically required to follow the same rules and requirements as public entities.
Since the shares can be purchased by the general public, there are various securities laws and statutes designed to protect investors and the general public from fraud and manipulation.
As a result, open corporations are required to file regulatory disclosures, provide investors with a prospectus outlining the potential risks of owning securities, and regularly provide their financial statements.
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Open Corporation vs Public Corporation
What is the difference between an open corporation and a public corporation?
An open corporation is nearly the same thing as a public corporation.
Both an open corporation and a public corporation are corporations that have sold shares to the general public.
Also, both the open corporation and public corporation are required to satisfy strict regulatory requirements and comply with their applicable securities laws.
The main difference between an open corporation and a public corporation is that open corporations are not traded in a public exchange whereas public corporations are listed in a stock exchange.
This means that anyone from the general public can easily buy shares of a public corporation.
However, for an open corporation, although it’s possible to purchase the shares, the company shares do not trade in a secondary market, there’s little float, and the shares are not highly liquid.
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Takeaways
So there you have it folks!
What does “open corporation” mean?
In a nutshell, an open corporation is a corporate entity that has issued shares to members of the general public.
As a result, an open corporation is substantially similar to a public corporation.
Open corporations have the advantage of being able to sell shares to any investor and raise capital.
On the other hand, they are required to comply with much stricter securities laws and satisfy regulatory requirements.
Now that you know what is an open corporation and how it works, good luck with your research!
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