Spotify prepares to launch on the stock market
The streaming service will debut on the stock exchange on Tuesday.
Daniel Ek, CEO of Swedish music streaming service Spotify, poses for photographers at a press conference in Tokyo on September 29, 2016.
Toru Yamanaka/Getty
Spotify will debut on the New York stock exchange today, April 3. The company filed to go public in February in a move that experts suggest could value them at $20bn-$25bn.
On Monday Wall Street set the reference price for Spotify shares at $132. However, due to an unconventional launch model, he opening public price will be determined by buy and sell orders collected from broker-dealers, Reuters reports. The company has made losses of nearly €1bn (£870m) over the past three years, so investors will not be able to rely on a traditional price earnings ratio as a guide.
The move towards an IPO has been a long time coming for Spotify. In 2016, the company hired its first head of investor relations and signed licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group. As of fall 2017, Spotify had 140 million regular users and 60 million paying subscribers.