noun
Definition 1
The placing of securities on a market to allow people to buy and sell them and thus establish their perceived value.
Source: Invertext
Context: Asked by an analyst at the group's flotation in 1993 what his financial strategy was, Mr Dumas replied: "That my grandchildren should be proud of me."
Source: Financial Times 03/05/2010 (Scheherazade Daneshkhu and Vanessa Friedman reporting on the demise of Jean-Louis Dumas, head of the luxury group Hermès)