- A public offering, as the name suggests, involves selling securities
to the public. Most public offerings are underwritten by investment dealers
or groups of dealers (a syndicated) who purchase the securities from the
issuing firm and then resell them to the public.
By law, public offerings of debt and equity must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration requires the firm to disclose a great deal of information before selling any securities. The accounting, legal, and selling costs of public offerings can be considerable.
