5.1 What is a public offering?
A public offering is the sale of municipal debt securities (referred to in this chapter as “bonds”), generally through an underwriter, to the general public or a limited sector of the general public. The offer is usually accompanied by an Official Statement (OS) in which the terms of the financing and its structure, sources of repayment security, and other important information are set forth. The OS provides the information needed by investors to make an informed investment decision. See Section 6.3, The Official Statement and Section 8.4,Continuing Disclosure. A public offering may be either a negotiated sale or a competitive sale.