Privatization has been the principal means through which governments sell shares to the public of state-owned enterprises. Beginning with Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, privatization spread to the developing world and then to the formerly communist societies seeking large-scale economic transformation in a relatively short period of time. Privatization work has become globalized. The agents and brokers who are capable of providing advice and guidance to their government or buy-side clients and governments seeking to use the marketplace in privatization offerings are the bankers with the infrastructure, the trained personnel, and the contacts with the worldwide corporate and financial market community. Privatizations, through public offering, trade sales, or other methods, have been an attractive and continuing source of revenue for investment banks and will continue to be so, especially in developing and transition economies, in the future.