Direct public offering

A Direct Public Offering (DPO) is a method by which a business can offer an investment opportunity directly to the public.

A DPO is similar to an initial public offering (IPO) in that securities, such as or debt, is sold to investors, but unlike an IPO, a company uses a DPO to raise capital directly and without a "firm underwriting" from an investment banking firm or broker-dealer. A DPO may have a sponsoring FINRA broker, but the broker does not guarantee full subscription of the offering. In a DPO, the broker merely assures compliance with all applicable securities laws and assists with organizing the offering. Following compliance with federal and state securities laws, a company can sell its shares directly to anyone, even non-accredited investors, including customers, employees, suppliers, distributors, family, friends and others.

Most DPOs do not require registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) because they qualify for an exemption from the federal registration requirements. The most commonly used exemptions are for intrastate offerings, offerings under $1 million (the Rule 504 exemption), and Regulation A. In such cases, state level registration is generally required. State level registration is usually less onerous and time-consuming than federal registration. Charitable organizations are also exempt from registration with the SEC and in most states.

For offerings involving SEC filings (such as Regulation A) some law firms and other service providers offer to manage a DPO within twelve months, for less than $100,000. The process and time required for such an offering is similar to the process utilized by large companies to complete an IPO, except that many DPOs are marketed via internet advertising and ads direct to consumers.

Offerings that do not require federal registration or filings can be done more cheaply and quickly - costs can range from $15,000-$50,000 and it can take as little as one month to complete the process.

Direct public offerings are primarily utilized by small to medium size companies and nonprofits who want to raise capital directly from their own community rather than from financial institutions like banks and venture capital firms.

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