The best companies you can’t buy

Here is my list of some of my favorite private companies or subsidiaries of public companies in which I would love to invest:

• Chemtool — how can you not love lubricants? These guys mint money and their customers don’t care because lubricants are such a small but vitally important part of all sorts of machinery.
• Logoworks — Bought in Spring 2007 by Hewlett Packard [[hp]]. This company is to logo and website design what Infosys [[infy]] is to technology outsourcing.
• Forever21 — Excellent merchandising and great distribution make this one of the best clothiers to fashion-conscious teenyboppers. The husband/wife team that runs the company has no intention of taking it public.
• Trader Joe’s — Whole Foods quality at Aldi’s prices. Did I mention Aldi’s? TJ’s is owned by the same German family that owns Aldi’s. The original Trader Joe sold out back in the late 1970s.
• Ted Drewe’s — The original frozen custard. With only two locations it could easily expand in St. Louis–there is certainly enough demand.
• PlentyofFish.com — Dating website has only 3 employees (the founder, his girlfriend, and one PR person). It also has at least $10 million in annual profits. Not bad.

Leave a comment if you have any favorite private companies.

Disclosure: I am a customer of Logoworks and Trader Joe’s and Aldi’s.