Spotify's shares gained nearly 13 percent from the reference price in its first day of trading in New York. The closing price of USD 149.01 values the music streaming company at around USD 26 billion.
Spotify's shares opened at a price of USD 165.90, only to fall back in the course of the day to USD 149 at close, CNBC reported. This is still above the highest price in recent private share sales reported by the company in the listing prospectus.
As the company did not sell new shares in the IPO, the trading price was determined by demand for shares from existing stockholders. The reference price was set by initial buy and sell orders collected by the NYSE from brokers prior to the start of trading.
Sony Music Entertainment said it was among the shareholders that sold stock on the first day. The company divested 17.2 percent of its 5.7 percent stake in Spotify. Including the proceeds from the share sale and an unrealised gain on its remaining shares in Spotify, Sony said it expects to book a one-time gain of JPY 105 billion (EUR 804 million), net of pay-outs to its artists and labels.
In a blog posting the day before the listing, CEO Daniel Ek played down the significance of the event for the company, while acknowledging that the group was "doing things a little differently" with the IPO. The company's focus "isn’t on the initial splash. Instead, we will be working on trying to build, plan, and imagine for the long term", Ek said.
