This is a way for an investment bank to sell shares on behalf of a client, perhaps when they first come to market by way of an IPO.

It involves contacting selected buyers, institutional investors or discretionary private buyers, and trying to persuade them to commit to buy blocks of shares. The process often involves a roadshow where the selling bank will approach these potential buyers and pitch to them. The alternative is to offer shares to the public but this is often seen as a more time consuming, expensive and unpredictable route.

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