Björn Vrooman Jul 18, 2016:

@David The "needlessly complicated" was adressing the apparent scientific nature of the debate around this term, which I believe was unnecessary.

"erlöst" in German:
"(veraltend) (als Geldbetrag) bei einem Verkauf einnehmen; erzielen" (you sell shares)
http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/erloesen

As simple as: to make money off the IPO

Worries about the register can be alleviated by looking at the next sentence -
"null Erlös" (zilch) is pretty informal.

I think "gain" is a two-edged sword because of the immaterial nature of some "gains" as in "benefits."

To clarify:
Would you rather say "We gained 10,000 dollars last month" or "We made 10,000 dollars last month"?

David Williams (asker) Jul 18, 2016:

@Björn It doesn't need to be needlessly complicated, it needs to be as clear and understandable as possible.

David Williams (asker) Jul 18, 2016:

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful discussion :-)

Ich bin erlöst! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR9HNoNIEEM

Björn Vrooman Jul 14, 2016:

@David Why does it need to be so needlessly complicated?

"The measure of investing success is rather simple – How much money did you make off a particular investment?"
http://financialmoneytips.com/understanding-ipos-and-how-to-...

Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 14, 2016:

No, Adrian the context is rather over apparent. Amen

Adrian MM. (X) Jul 13, 2016:

taken in @ Ramey R. (target): American English: I pray there is no ambiguity as in BrE, namely taken in connotes hoodwinking, esp. of people.

Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 13, 2016:

Okay, but I prefer 'take in' ;-)

David Williams (asker) Jul 13, 2016:

How about How much profit did X and Y make from the IPO?

Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 13, 2016:

How much did X and Y take in at the initial public offering?

Camilla Seifert Jul 13, 2016:

Not sure that "gain" is the right word here. Erlös is more in the meaning of money - so maybe "earn"?

David Williams (asker) Jul 13, 2016:

Thank you, everyone! So how does this sound? What did Mr. X and Mr. Y gain from the the initial public offering?

Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 13, 2016:

Yes, that's what I understand as well, it's the tone of the question that's nagging. As if the two men did/got/won less than desired. Or as if it were an exercise in futility.

David Williams (asker) Jul 13, 2016:

Yes, that's how I understand it, Camilla

Camilla Seifert Jul 13, 2016:

I agree with David here sort of asking: Was war der Erlös aus dem Börsengang.

Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 13, 2016:

Okay Since this is not my field, I have to ask if zero profit is a desirable result in this case. I would think it isn't and would suggest "gain by".

David Williams (asker) Jul 13, 2016:

It goes on to say Wir haben damals noch Kredit aufgenommen, um Aktien zu kaufen, auch auf Anraten unserer Banken, aber auch weil wir überzeugt davon waren, dass das ein gutes Investment ist. Also null Euro Erlös aus dem Börsengang.

David Williams (asker) Jul 13, 2016:

I suspect that this means What were the proceeds of the the initial public offering?

Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 13, 2016:

Redeemed? Don't they go on to explain, condemn, argue? It sounds accusatory.