A public limited company (legally abbreviated to plc) is a type of public company (publicly held company) under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited (liability) company whose shares may be freely sold and traded to the public (although a plc may also be privately held, often by another plc), with a minimum share capital of £50,000 and the letters PLC after its name. Similar companies in the United States are called publicly traded companies.