closed corporation

American  

noun

1. an incorporated business the stock of which is owned by a small group.

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closed corporation British  

noun

1. Also: close corporation.  a corporation the stock of which is owned by a small number of persons and is rarely traded on the open market

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Example Sentences

The union has been totally familial, a closed corporation.

From Time Magazine Archive

The tycoons, who had run the islands for generations as their closed corporation, fought stubbornly and bitterly.

From Time Magazine Archive

What was more, the stock was kept so much at home in this old Presbyterian family that until recently Phelps Dodge has remained practically a closed corporation.

From Time Magazine Archive

But last week Marshall Field & Co., following the lead of many another closed corporation, decided to let a portion of its stock pass to the public.

From Time Magazine Archive

Generally speaking, we have been a sort of closed corporation, a board of five, with each one given a vote and the right to cast it.

From When Winter Comes to Main Street by Overton, Grant Martin