- Spotify in December confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering, the news website Axios reports.
- Companies can file quietly to gauge interest from investors before deciding to publicize their IPO plans.
- Spotify was slapped with a $1.6 billion lawsuit earlier this week accusing it of streaming thousands of songs without compensating the publisher.
Spotify has confidentially filed for its initial public offering, Dan Primack of the news website Axios reported on Wednesday.
The music-streaming service based in Stockholm filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of December, the report said. It is aiming to list in the first quarter, Axios said.
By filing in private, companies can test how interested investors are in buying their stock before going public with their intentions. This used to be available only to companies with less than $1 billion in revenue under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. Last June, the SEC under Jay Clayton, the chairman appointed by President Donald Trump, expanded the privilege to all companies.
On Tuesday, Wixen Music Publishing hit Spotify with a $1.6 billion lawsuit accusing it of streaming thousands of songs without compensation. Spotify agreed in May to pay over $43 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing it of failing to pay royalties.
Spotify declined to comment.
