Public offering of a security issue to every interested investor, with or without involving an underwriter. In contrast, a rights issue is offered only to the current stockholders. In the U.S., general cash offer is the most common method of selling debt (bond) and equity (stock) issues. According to the SEC Rule 415 (1982), a large firm can file a single new issue registration statement that is valid for two years. Within this period the firm can make general cash offers as and when it wants.