Initial Public Offering (IPO)

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

The term IPO stands for Initial Public Offer and it is in practice in the primary market of shares and stocks. It is the first issue of shares of a company to the public. An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. IPOs are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately-owned companies looking to become publicly traded. IPOs can be a risky investment. For the individual investor, it is tough to predict what the stock will do on its initial day of trading and in the near future since there is often little historical data with which to analyze the company. Also, most IPOs are of companies going through a transitory growth period, and they are therefore subject to additional uncertainty regarding their future value. In short we can say that IPO is the medium through which a company raises equity capital from the public. By this process it also gets listed on the stock exchange. Life cycle of an IPO There are eight major steps in the life cycle of an IPO such as;     IPO process initialization     Pre Issue Role - Part 1     Prospectus Review     Pre Issue Role - Part 2     Bidding for the public issue     Price Fixing     Processing IPO Applications     Stock Listing with regards Anees