Meaning & use
pubco
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformalfinance
A company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange and can be bought by the public.
Grammar: Short for public company; often capitalized in headings.
Patterns
- a pubco listed on something
The startup plans to merge with a pubco to avoid a lengthy IPO.
As a pubco, the firm must publish quarterly results.
Investors prefer a pubco with transparent reporting.
nouncountablebusinesstechnical
In a deal, the listed company that is buying or merging, in contrast to the private target company.
Grammar: Used in deal documents: pubco will acquire the target.
Patterns
- pubco and target
Pubco will issue new shares to the owners of the private firm.
The lawyers called the acquirer pubco throughout the contract.
Word forms
| plural | pubcos |
|---|
Common combinations
- listed pubco
- A listed pubco must meet exchange rules.
- merge with a pubco
- The founders chose to merge with a pubco.
- pubco shares
- Pubco shares fell two percent after the announcement.
- small-cap pubco
- He invests in a small-cap pubco in the mining sector.
Synonyms and how they differ
- public company
- It is the full phrase and fits any writing, while pubco is shorthand for specialists.
- listed company
- It emphasizes being on an exchange, which is what makes a pubco public.
- publicly traded company
- It is more formal and wordy, and appears in contracts.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: pubco or pub company?
pubco vs pub company
A pub company, or pubco, in the UK can also mean a firm that owns many pubs, so the finance meaning must come from context.
Practice
Unlike a privately owned firm, a ___ has shares anyone can buy on an exchange.
Choose one answer.
A listed public company is a pubco. A partnership is owned by named partners and its shares are not traded publicly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pubco”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.