Privatisation

The sale of government-owned equity in nationalised industries or other state-owned commercial enterprises to private investors. The sale may either transfer all the equity to private ownership, or the government may retain some shares, or even a majority shareholding in order to prevent the company falling into the hands of an unwelcome bidder (a golden share also serves this purpose). Privatisations heyday in the UK was in the mid-1980s and early 1990s when many nationalised industries, such as British Telecommunications, British Gas, British Rail, electricity and water companies were privatised.