Spotify will begin selling its stock directly to the people on April 3 in what is sure to be a volatile and fascinating first day of trading for the music company.
Spotify’s first day of trading will be April 3
It’s sure to be a volatile debut.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Mastercard
Spotify disclosed the date on Thursday at its “Investor Day,” a livestreamed, open-to-the-public version of the roadshow that typically predates an initial public offering. Spotify, though, is forgoing a traditional IPO — in which stock is sold in advance of the opening day to some institutional investors — and executing a novel “direct listing” in which company shares are sold directly to mom-and-pop stock pickers.
The company has acknowledged that trading could have some wild ups and downs during those first days as the market tries to reach a consensus on how much Spotify is worth. But lots of other highly valued startups are closely watching Spotify’s broader performance to see if a company can successfully list without the fees and heavy imprint of bankers.
Trading of the other highly anticipated IPO of early 2018, Dropbox, is expected to begin late next week.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
