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An initial public offering (IPO) is the first sale of a corporation's common shares to investors on a public stock exchange. The main purpose of an IPO is to raise capital for the corporation. While IPOs are effective at raising capital, being listed on a stock exchange imposes heavy regulatory compliance and reporting requirements. The term only refers to the first public issuance of a company's shares. If a company later sells newly issued shares (again) to the market, it is called a 'Seasoned Equity Offering'. When a shareholder sells shares it is called a "secondary offering" and the shareholder, not the company who originally issued the shares, retains the proceeds of the offering. These terms are often confused. In distinguishing them, it is important to remember that only a company which issues shares can make a "primary offering". Secondary offerings occur on the "secondary market", where shareholders (not the issuing company) buy and sell shares with each other.