yes based on the same earnings. not necessarily by size though. but alot of private companies cant take them public for alot of reasons. some is the cost, or financing, etc. many are not quite big enough to justify. and yes they may be dumb for not taking them public. but unless they are big enough they cant generate the interest in their shares or a listing other than like the pink sheets.


look at whats out there now. not many companies would really ever sell for the 30 or more times earnings that public companies trade at. as a general but lousy and approximate rule, most private businesses will sell for less than seven times earnings and most much less. i am making very general statements here.