Tips for Locating Information on Private and Local

Companies

Presented by: Ed Hahn – Weber State University

Britt Fagerheim – Utah State University

Private Companies

What is a Private Company? Private companies are owned by:

Individuals Family Group of shareholders

Private Companies

Don’t sell shares on open market Don’t file quarterly earnings Financial Statements not publicly

available Information is scattered – Need

to use multiple sources

Private Companies

Searching for information done by:Specific companyCompeting Companies Industry Information

Private Company Sources

Sources for finding private company information include:Print Reference ResourcesGovernment and Commercial Websites

Value-Added Databases

Print Resources

Print Resources

Ward’s Directory of U.S. Private and Public CompaniesProvides company directories by:

AlphabeticalGeographicalSIC RankingsNAICS Rankings

Print Resources

Hoovers Handbook of Private Companies Provides background and some financial

information on large private companies Find executives, major competitors,

products, and some financial information

Print Resources

International Directory of Company Histories Provides historical information of

larger public and private companies

Includes regular updates of companies

Print Resources

Plunkett’s Research Covers top companies in specific industries,

including: Retail Trade Information Technology Energy Entertainment Banking Telecommunications

Print Resources

LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations “Who Owns Whom” Provides subsidiary information for

both public and private companies

Web Resources

Web Resources

Hoover’s Online (http://www.hoovers.com/free/) Provides limited free information

for:CompaniesIndustries

Web Resources

Biz Journals (http://www.bizjournals.com) Provides company and industry

news for:CitiesIndustries

Web Resources

Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov) S-1 forms for private companies

intending an Initial Public Offering (IPO)

Find information about private companies doing business with public companies

Web Resources

Trade and Industry Associations on the Web from the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/div/aon/) Provides links to various trade groups

including: Accounting Economics Marketing Finance

Web Resources

North American Industry Classification System from the U.S. Census (http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html) Listing of all classification codes by

sector Keyword searchable

Web Resources

U.S. Economic Census (http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/) Industry Sector Report by 2 digit

NAICS code Geographic Area Series Reports by

state, metro area, county, and city

Web Resources

Individual company websites Contains company specific

information Often includes links to news

articles about the company Most of the information comes

from the company itself

Value Added Resources

Value Added Resources

Business Source Premier (Company Profiles) Contains profiles of public and

larger private companies Available to the residents of Utah

through Pioneer

Value Added Resources

Factiva Profiles of public and private

companies News information about companies

and industries Available to residents of Utah

through Pioneer

Value Added Resources

ABI/Inform-Proquest Newspapers Helpful for finding company and industry

news through trade publications Contains access to national as well as

local newspapers including: Wall Street Journal New York Times Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Business Resources

Utah Business Resources

Utah Division of Corporations & Commercial Codes Information and statistics of

company filings in the state of Utah http://corporations.utah.gov/

index.html

Utah Business Resources

Utah Business Directory Utah business directory by city and

category Includes information about:

Company rating Number of employees Years in business Estimated revenue

Utah Business Resources

Salt Lake Enterprise Weekly business newspaper

providing news from around the state

Available in print and online through Pioneer on the Regional Business News Database

Utah Business Resources

Utah Business Monthly magazine covering business

news around the state of Utah Available in print and searchable online

at: http://www.utahbusiness.com

Questions?