Another big reason is to make it easier to do acquisitions. It's a lot easier (for both sides!) to buy another company with your stock if there is more confide

Another big reason is to make it easier to do acquisitions. It's a lot easier (for both sides!) to buy another company with your stock if there is more confidence in the valuation, that way everybody knows what they're getting (or giving away). One way to get a really, really solid valuation is to be publicly traded.