Exit

An exit occurs when an investor sells part or all of his or her ownership. In a healthy or growing company, an investor may exit to gain a return on investment. In other cases, the investor may simply want to access cash to invest elsewhere.

Investors can exit by:

• Selling shares to another investor (or investors)
• Merging the company they’re invested in with another company
• Selling the company to another company
• Issuing shares through an initial public offering

Related definitions

Find out more in our glossary