Spotify is gearing up to launch an initial public offering, expected as soon as first quarter of 2018, after filing confidential documents with the SEC last month, according to reports.
The company’s confidential F-1 filing was first reported by Axios, which said “all indications” point to Spotify launching in the first quarter of 2018. Bloomberg reported that the streaming-music provider plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
A Spotify rep declined to comment.
Spotify is expected to launch an IPO as a direct listing rather than a traditional offering of shares. That’s designed to make it easier for the company to go public — and it would not dilute the current equity of executives and investors — but also means it won’t raise capital with the IPO.
Spotify’s valuation as of December topped $19 billion, up from $16 billion earlier in the fall, Reuters reported last month.
Earlier last month, Spotify agreed to buy a stake in China’s Tencent Music Entertainment, which in turn will purchase an equity stake in Spotify; the terms of that deal weren’t disclosed.
As of July 2017, Spotify reported over 60 million subscribers worldwide for its service, which is available in 61 countries. The service streams a catalog of over 30 million songs.
Pictured above: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek
