IPO = Initial Public Offering, where shareholders offer to sell their shares to the public, shifting a company from a "private company" (it belongs to me, you, and that guy) to a "public company" (it belongs to anyone who pays enough for the shares).

The userbase has been always touchy when it comes to IPO, and rightfully so; they know that the new owners will only care about squeezing the platform dry. As such, I predict a new flood of Redditfugees to Lemmy and Kbin.