An offering is the issue or sale of a security by a company. It is often used in reference to an initial public offering (IPO) when a company’s stock is made available for purchase by the public, but it can also be used in the context of a bond issue.

An offering is also known as a securities offering, investment round, or funding round. A securities offering, whether an IPO or otherwise, represents a singular investment or funding round. Unlike other rounds (such as seed rounds or angel rounds), however, an offering involves selling stocks, bonds, or other securities to investors to generate capital.