Related-Party Transaction

Related-Party Transaction

A transaction between two businesses that have a personal or other relationship. For example, a publicly-traded company may be inclined to hire a large, minority shareholder as a supplier. In small businesses, a company may hire the owner's brother-in-law to repair the driveway. Related-party transactions are legal, but create the potential for conflicts of interest. Thus, publicly-traded companies are required to report them on their 10-K forms.