(MENAFN) Spotify is preparing to launch an initial public offering, expected in the first quarter of 2018, after filing confidential documents with the SEC on December.

The streaming-music provider is expected to launch an IPO as a direct listing instead of a traditional offering of shares, designed to make it easier for the company to go public.

The company's valuation as of December has exceeded 19b USD, which increased from the 16b USD earlier in the fall.

However, it is being hit by a lawsuit seeking damages of 1.6b USD from Wixen Music Publishing, which handles titles by artists such as Tom Petty and Neil Young.

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