Spotify to go public on April 3

[NEW YORK] Spotify will go public on April 3 as the world's largest streaming company lists on the New York Stock Exchange.

Paul Vogel, the Swedish company's head of investor relations, made the announcement at the start of a day of briefings to potential funders in New York.

Spotify had announced the long-awaited public listing on February 28 without giving a date.

In an unusual move, the company is not issuing new shares as in a traditional initial public offering.

It instead will directly list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, allowing its founders to maintain control and avoiding the cost of Wall Street underwriters.

"For us, going public has never been about the pomp or the circumstance of it all," Spotify's 35-year-old co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek told the investors.

"So you won't see us ringing any bell or throwing any parties, and despite the enormous respect I have for the New York Stock Exchange in this process, I also won't be on the floor doing any interviews," he said.

Spotify, in a filing to US regulators, said that it had a 42 per cent share of the global market in streaming in revenue terms in 2016.

Spotify has voiced confidence that streaming will keep up its fast-paced growth although the company has acknowledged that it has yet to turn a profit.

AFP