initial public offering

initial public offering definition - finance
A company’s first sale of stock to the general public. Typically, a company hires an underwriter, which is an investment bank that specializes in selling stock to the public, to handle the IPO. The sales process is highly regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which approves all public stock sales. 

Webster's New World Finance and Investment Dictionary Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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