[spiralx]

Can you have a cooperative with limited liability? I'm sure you can emulate it with a limited company and particular arrangements of stock ownership and voting rights, but I doubt that's easy or cheap to set up.

The John Lewis Partnership in the UK is a public limited company whose shares are entirely owned by a trust that pays shares of profits to all of its employees, which isn't quite "ownership" but close, and they have a $15bn revenue. Publix Super Markets in the US has a $45bn revenue and is privately owned with all employees receiving stock.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/051316/6-succ...

Financing is probably an issue at a certain level but it doesn't seem to be limiting otherwise. They're just unusual, although if you consider startups giving employees a stake isn't that strange today.

[dragonwriter]

> Can you have a cooperative with limited liability?

Yes, in the US, at least. A coop can be a corporation or LLC (and a coop that is either the former or the latter when taxed as a corporation has special tax status with the IRS, under subchapter T, so occasionally they are referred to as “T corps” analogous to C or S corps.)

[Inhibit]

An S-Corp is the structure made for that sort of spread to a limited number of stakeholders. Not to say it's viable in some states with current regulation.

Also, LLP is a limited liability partnership. Wholly state entity, though, so the same caveat again. Member limits, etc.

And that's the USA of course. Your country may vary.