An initial public offering is for a company to go public for raising equity capital
Any existing or new company to raise equity capital goes public through IPO or initial public offering. In the case of an existing company, the promoters can sell their shares to the public or issue new shares to the public. A minimum of 51 % of the company’s shares will be held by its promoters and the remaining will be offered to the public, mutual funds, and others. Once the shares are listed in the respective stock exchanges, they will be traded to determine the market capitalization of the company.