The right (but not the obligation) of a security holder to force someone else to purchase the put holder's securities at a designated time (e.g., five years after the security is purchased) or upon a specified occurrence (e.g., the company commits an event of default). The put price either is a fixed price or is set according to specified terms and conditions, and pursuant to an agreed pricing formula. A put right provides investors with a safety net: even if management or the controlling stockholders do not want to sell the company or take it public, the investor nonetheless has the ability to achieve liquidity by requiring the company to redeem the investor's security at a price or on the conditions set. A put is the opposite of a call.