Registered sale of shares of stocks previously sold in the primary offering to the public is known as secondary distribution, more commonly known as secondary market offering. While in initial public offering the proceeds from the sale of shares of stocks goes to the issuing company, in secondary market offering, the money arising from the sale of the shares of stocks goes to the investors.

Secondary market offering is entirely different from primary market offering. In primary market offering, the shares of stocks were initially offered to the market. In secondary market offering however, refers to the subsequent offering of shares initially sold to the public. In secondary market offering, no new shares are created and therefore do not result to the dilution of shares of the existing stockholders. Thats why secondary market offering is also said to be non-dilutive.

One of the reasons why original stockholders resort to secondary market offering is to diversify their investment. Good example of secondary market offering of shares is the subsequent sale of shares acquired by the issuing companys directors and those closely related to it from the initial public offering. It must be noted that in the ordinary course of the initial issuance of shares, directors and those closely related to the issuing company are those who initially subscribed to the initial issuance of shares to public.

As the market price of the shares of stocks goes up, those who acquired shares thru initial public offering mostly choose to sell said shares subsequently thru the secondary market offering thereby earning profit from the transaction. In this manner, the investors were able to avail of the opportunity to diversify their investment thru secondary market offering.

Institutions who intend to gain control over the issuing company are those who usually buy shares thru secondary offering in order to increase their shareholdings.

Secondary market offering is different from follow-on offering also known as dilutive secondary offering or subsequent offering. While no shares of stocks are created in the secondary market offering which in effect do not dilute the shareholders interest, however in follow-on offering, new shares are created by the issuing company and float it to market thereby diluting existing shares of the current stockholders. This is the reason why follow-on offering is also called dilutive secondary offering.

To understand better the difference between the secondary market offering and follow-on offering, it is important to note the market with whom the shares are offered. In secondary market offering, the subsequent offering of shares is offered to the secondary market while in follow-on offering the subsequent initial offering of shares are offered to the primary market. Thus, any offering to the primary market after initial offering, whether second or third offering, are called follow-on offering.

For better understanding, it is likewise important to give emphasis to the resulting effects of the aforementioned to the shareholders. As already discussed above, secondary market offering does not affect the total shares available to the market hence, it is non- dilutive. On the other hand, considering that new shares are created in follow-on offering, it said to be dilutive. This is in addition to the fact the fact that the proceeds from sale thru secondary market offering goes to the shareholders while in follow-on offering, it goes to the issuing company.

The columnist of this exposition has located a well respected investment relations vet named Wade Entezar.

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