spoke: I'm in no way an expert on financing for private or public companies, and all of the benefits and liabilities of each, but it is pretty common knowledge that privates are generally easier. I'll give you few of the reasons.
1) Control, control, control. Look at the % of Ikanos that is owned by the VC's. Control drastically reduces their definition of risk.
2) Far less regulations governing private companies, which gives the investors far more flexibility and control.
3) The underlying costs are generally less to run the company because of the legal and compliance costs among other things. This increases potential profitability.
So basically, control, flexibility, and profitability. I'm sure that I have barely scratched the surface, however those 3 are very big reasons.
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