An
unlimited company or
private unlimited company is a hybrid
company (
corporation) incorporated with or without a share capital (and similar to its
limited company counterpart) but where the
legal liability of the members or
shareholders is not limited: that is, its members or shareholders have a joint, several and non-limited obligation to meet any insufficiency in the assets of the company to enable settlement of any outstanding
financial liability in the event of the company's formal
liquidation. The joint, several and non-limited liability of the members or shareholders of the company to meet any insufficiency in the assets of the company (to settle its outstanding liabilities if any exist) applies only upon the formal liquidation of the company. Therefore, prior to any such formal liquidation of the company, any creditors or security holders of the company may have recourse only to the assets of the company, not those of its members or shareholders.