Author: Pavel V. Sinichkin

Abstract. The subject of this article is to examine the theoretical aspects related to the valuation of the company. Relevance of the topic of the present article is caused by the existing terminological paradox: in the field of business valuation the vast majority of studies use the term company, while the Russian legislation applies the term society. Moreover, in the valuation practice both these terms are used interchangeably. The author attempts to justify the idea that the term company is more succinct.

Systematic approach to the study of the legal framework formed the basis for proposing the author’s definition of public company, interpreted as a company that does not meet the following criteria: 1) its shares or securities convertible into shares are publicly traded on the stock exchange or OTC market and have an acceptable level of liquidity (average daily trading volume – not less than 1 million rubles); 2) it duly discloses the necessary information as stipulated by the Russian legislation.

Keywords: Joint-stock company, public company, securities, stock exchange