corporate finance Corporate finance is an area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, and the capital structure of businesses, the actions that managers take to increase the Value investing, value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analy ...

mergers Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

(including the

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...

), and

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an ownership stake in a company, made by a foreign investor, company, or government from another country. More specifically, it describes a controlling ownership an asset in one country by an entity based i ...

, an exit is a deal for removing an ownership stake in an enterprise or temporary project. Types of exits include selling via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

or corporate acquisition, and writing off assets. There is a point in the investment cycle where one or more investors (possibly a financial institution, small group of investors, or an individual) sells some or all of their ownership stake and takes profits. These transactions can have very different features depending on the investment assets, whether they are traditional companies, multi-billion dollar diversified conglomerates, or other more purely-financial entities, such as

special-purpose acquisition companies The Special Purpose was a jazz/funk fusion band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in the summer of 2004, the group - consisting of John Fawcett (drums), Stephen Fogg (8-string guitar), Christopher Stefanile (guitar) and Tim Symons (keyboards)-- b ...

References

{{Finance-stub Investment Selling techniques Finance Venture capital Private equity and venture capital investors Private equity