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Simple English definitions for legal terms
public offering
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A quick definition of public offering:
A public offering is when a company sells its stocks or bonds to the public. This is called an initial public offering (IPO) if it's the first time the company is doing this. If they do it again later, it's called a follow-on offering. The government makes sure that companies follow rules when they do this. Private placement is when a company doesn't sell its stocks or bonds to the public.
A more thorough explanation:
A public offering is when a company sells its securities (like stocks or bonds) to the public. The first time a company does this is called an initial public offering (IPO). After that, it's called a follow-on offering. The government, through Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), regulates how companies can do a public offering. This is different from a private placement, which is when securities are not offered to the public.
Let's say a company called XYZ wants to raise money by selling stocks to the public. They go through the process of an IPO, which means they offer their stocks to anyone who wants to buy them. This is a public offering. Later on, if XYZ wants to sell more stocks to the public, they can do a follow-on offering.
Another example is when a company called ABC wants to raise money by selling bonds to the public. They go through the process of a public offering, which means they offer their bonds to anyone who wants to buy them.
These examples illustrate how a public offering works. Companies can raise money by selling securities to the public, but they have to follow certain rules set by the government.