Initial Offering Explained: Meaning, Types, Process, and Risks
An **Initial Offering** is the first time an issuer offers a security to investors, usually to raise capital and begin a formal relationship with outside shareholders. In stock-market usage, it often refers to a company’s first equity sale and may overlap with an IPO, but the phrase is broader than IPO and can also describe a first private or other inaugural securities issue. Understanding that distinction helps you evaluate dilution, pricing, disclosures, regulation, and investor risk more accurately.