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IPO

IPO

53 4.1
An event when a company sells shares to the public for the first time
  • noun
  • /ˌaɪ piː ˈoʊ/
translation icon : salida a bolsa
  • After months of preparation, the tech startup finally completed its IPO and went public.
  • initial public IPO
  • public IPO
  • IPO offering

Now a single VC backed IPO was profitable when it went public.

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Examples

  • So when the company changes from private to public, it goes through this IPO process.

  • We have our IPO at the end of the month, and I need results now.

  • The biggest IPO in this firm's history.

  • If it's the first time you've been issued shares, it's called an IPO or initial public offering.

  • Earlier this year, the company was eying an IPO to raise money for city expansion.

    Blog text (6)
  • Mark Cuban says the Facebook IPO was handled exactly as it should have been by the company.

    Blog text (3)
  • The company is rumored to be ramping towards an IPO, likely in 2011.

    Blog text (6)
  • The company is planning to launch its IPO next month, allowing investors to buy shares for the first time.

  • Many analysts expect the new IPO to generate significant interest among investors in the market.

Synonyms

initial public offering
vsIPO
  • Specialized
8 5.3

The first time a company sells shares to the public on the stock market

refers to the first public share sale without naming the market
initial offering
vsIPO
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A company's first sale of shares to the public on a stock market

covers the same first sale but does not stress the exchange
flotation
vsIPO
  • Specialized
1 7.5

Raising money for a company by selling shares to the public

is a single occasion for the first public share sale rather than the whole process
floatation
vsIPO
  • UK
7.8

Selling a company's shares or bonds to the public for the first time

refers only to first sale of shares and excludes bond issues

Surface Forms

IPO singular
IPOs plural

Etymology

IPO is a short form of initial public offering, where initial means 'first', public means 'the people', and offering means 'to sell'. So an IPO is a company's 'first' time selling its shares to the 'public', which is why it marks when a private company starts to be owned by the public.