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Selling shares of stock to investors is a common way that companies attract capital that they can use to fund new projects and growth. An initial public offering, or IPO, is a company's first sale of stock to the public. When a company files for an IPO, it plans on selling stock to the public, which means the company goes from being privately owned to being publicly owned.
The standard legal designation of a company which has offered shares to the general public and has limited liability. A Public Limited Company's stock can be acquired by anyone and holders are only limited to potentially lose the amount paid for the shares. It is a legal form more commonly used in the U.K. Two or more people are required to form such a company, assuming it has a lawful purpose.