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New York, NY – Spotify debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, opening with shares as high as $165.95 on Tuesday (April 3). The streaming service made the largest-ever direct listing, valuing the company at close to $30 billion, according to Reuters.
Shares were up 26 percent from the $132 reference price listed by the NYSE on Monday (April 2). Spotify’s valuation was a dramatic increase from the $8.4 billion it was pegged at in 2015.
“We set out to reimagine the music industry and to provide a better way for both artists and consumers to benefit from the digital transformation of the music industry,” the company said in its February filing. “Spotify was founded on the belief that music is universal and that streaming is a more robust and seamless access model that benefits both artists and music fans.”
NYSE president Thomas Farley addressed why his stock exchange handled Spotify’s listing as opposed to NASDAQ.
“People have asked me why @Spotify chose the @NYSE for this unique listing,” Farley wrote on Twitter. “The answer is simple: we excel at large, complex financial transactions like this. The NYSE market model allowed Spotify to confidently list their shares on the New York Stock Exchange.”
People have asked me why @Spotify chose the @NYSE for this unique listing. The answer is simple: we excel at large, complex financial transactions like this. The NYSE market model allowed Spotify to confidently list their shares on the New York Stock Exchange
— Thomas Farley (@ThomasFarley) April 3, 2018
Spotify shares closed at $149.60 on Tuesday.
Source: Hip Hop DX
