Can you use private companies in a Public Comps analysis?

How to answer

No. Public Comps requires observable trading multiples, which only exist for publicly listed companies. Private companies have no live share price, so EV and Equity Value cannot be marked to market. Private companies can be referenced via Precedent Transactions (where an actual deal price was paid) or used as fundamental peers for margin/growth comparisons, but never in trading-multiple medians.