An initial public offering (IPO) a first-time sale of company securities on a stock exchange to public investors, its chief purpose is to help small or new companies raise capital to finance growth; larger companies or corporations use it to leverage their operations. Prior to having an IPO, it is usually a limited-liability company, which is not registered with the Securities Commission (CVM) and whose securities trading is private and not affected by laws and regulations that govern stock exchanges.

This is an investment fund that purchases equity interest in companies. These are usually larger emerging companies with great potential. Private equity funds are usually private agreements between investors and managers and are not openly placed on the market, but rather privately placed.

The term merger usually refers to the combination of companies. While a merger is a combination of two or more companies to form a new one, an acquisition represents either the purchase of one company by another or a stockholding partnership.

A private investment is the direct sale of non-registered securities by a company to one or more sophisticated investors, especially insurance companies. Formal ratings are not mandatory for this type of transaction. The securities are usually sold under a best-effort placement system.

This is a bond denominated in U.S. dollars or other currencies and sold to investors outside the country where the issuing company is based. The Eurobond market is an important source of capital for governments, supranational entities, large companies, and banks.