sole proprietorship
businesses owned and operated by one individual; the most common form of business organization in the united states
partnership
a form of business organization defined by the uniform partnership act as "an association of two or more persons who carry on as cowers of a business for profit
general partnership
a partnerships that involves a complete sharing in both the management and the liability of the business
limited partnership
a business organization that has at least one general partner, who assumes unlimited liability, and at least one limited partner, whose liability is limited to his or her investment in the business
articles of partnership
legal documents that set forth the basic agreement between partners
corporation
a legal entity, created by the state, whose assets and liabilities are separate from its owners
stock
shares of a corporation that may be bought or sold
dividends
profits of a corporation that are distributed in the form of cash payments to stockholders
corporate charter
a legal document that the stet issues to a company based on information the company provides in the articles of incorporation
private corporation
a corporation owned by just one or a few people who are closely involved in managing the business
public corporation
a corporation whose stock anyone may buy, sell, or trade
initial public offering (IPO)
selling a corporation's stock on public markets for the first time
quasi-public corporations
corporations owned and operated by the federal, state, or local government
nonprofit corporations
corporations that focus on providing a service rather than earning a profit but are not owned by a government entity
board of directors
a group of individuals, elected by the stockholders to oversee the general operation of the corporation, who set the corporation's long-range objectives
preferred stock
a special type of stock whose owners, though not generally having a say in running the company, have a claim to profits before other stockholders do
common stock
stock whose owners have voting rights in the corporation, yet do not receive preferential treatment regarding dividends
joint venture
a partnership established for a specific project or for a limited time
S corporation
corporation taxed as though it were a partnership with restrictions on shareholders
limited liability company (LLC)
form of ownership that provides limited liability and taxation like a partnership but places fewer restrictions on members
cooperative (co-op)
an organization composed of individuals or small businesses that have banded together to reap the benefits of belonging to a larger organization
merger
the combination of two companies (usually corporations) to form a new company
acquisition
the purchase of one company by another, usually by buying its stock
leveraged buyout (LBO)
a purchase in which a group of investors borrows money from banks and other institutions to acquire a company (or a division of one), using the assets of the purchased company to guarantee repayment of the loan
They pay taxes at the income tax rate for individuals
how does taxation work in partnerships
private corporation
the corporation whose stock is not traded in public markets.
vertical merger
the type of merger when companies operating at different but related levels of an industry merge; results when one corporation merges with one of its customers or suppliers.
public
what corporation finds it easiest to raise money because it can issue stocks or bonds when it needs to raise capital.
poison pill
A __________ allows stockholders to buy more shares of stock at prices lower than current market value to deter a hostile takeover
horizontal merger
when firms that make and sell similar products to the same customers merge, it is known as _____
conglomerate merger
when two firms in unrelated industries merger
shark repellant
management requires a large majority of stockholders to approve the takeover
white knight
a more acceptable firm that is willing to acquire the threatened company