In an IPO, secondary shares (in contrast to primary shares) refer to existing shares of common stock that are sold to investors in an offering (see Secondary Market Offering). The selling of these secondary shares may be from existing shareholders, or may be newly registered shares from the company. In the case of newly registered shares, the offering is referred to as "dilutive" (to EPS) due to the increase in the number of outstanding shares. In the case of selling shares of already registered stock (from an institutional block or from insider shares), the offering is considered "non-dilutive".
Famous quotes containing the words secondary and/or shares:
“The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four—of secondary importance is to prepare for being five.”
—Jim Trelease (20th century)
“When the wind carries a cry which is meaningful to human ears, it is simpler to believe the wind shares with us some part of the emotion of Being than that the mysteries of a hurricane’s rising murmur reduce to no more than the random collision of insensate molecules.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)