Spotify's IPO valuation in the U.S. reached US$13 billion in the fastest fourth quarter

According to foreign reports, sources revealed on Friday that Spotify, one of Europe's largest technology startups and streaming music service provider, is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2018. It is reported that Spotify's current valuation has reached US$13 billion.

It is reported that investment banks Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Allen& Co. It is currently responsible for handling matters related to Spotify's initial public offering and will serve as a joint securities underwriter for the company's listing.

Co-founded by Swedes Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify is one of Europe's most valuable start-ups and a leader in the global music streaming industry. However, as technology giants such as Apple have entered the industry, they face more intense competition and are deeply involved in losses. Spotify completed its latest round of financing in 2015, with a valuation of US$8 billion. The company reported an operating loss of 184.5 million euros (approximately US$195.5 million) in 2015, up from 165.1 million euros in 2014.

If Spotify, which is valued at US$13 billion, goes public, it will become the largest initial public offering of a technology stock since Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, went public in March this year.

Spotify currently has access to 60 markets around the world, charging users a monthly fee. Its huge music library can be played on mobile phones or computers, but the company's profits rely heavily on the copyright fee agreements it reaches with powerful record labels every few years. Spotify has long been seen as a takeover target for Silicon Valley tech giants such as Facebook and Google. Spotify was widely expected to make an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock market in 2017.

Spotify currently has about 3000 employees. The company's choice to make an initial public offering is expected to boost confidence among European tech companies. European technology start-ups are currently more inclined to sell to Silicon Valley or China buyers early in their establishment. Spotify co-founder Ike said early last year that he had no intention of selling Spotify to the outside world.

Spotify currently offers two subscription services: a free ad-supported model and a fee-based model that strips ads and allows offline listening. Spotify is not yet profitable, and more than 80% of its revenue is paid to record companies and artists. The company's financial report shows that in 2015, Spotify's revenue increased by 80% year-on-year to US$2.18 billion; the net loss for the same period reached US$194 million; in 2016, Spotify's revenue increased by 43%, and the number of global subscribers reached 50 million.

If we compete for the number of subscribers, Apple Music is not a match for Spotify for the time being, but with its small user base, Apple can still turn corruption into magic. Data previously released by market analysis firm Verto showed that Apple Music had 40.7 million independent active users in the U.S. market in February this year, ranking first among streaming music services. Compared with Pandora and Spotify, which ranked second and third, the number of active users is only 32.6 million and 30.4 million. Of course, this is just statistics on the mobile side. If you add the desktop side, the ranking may change. Although it has been a short time to market, as of December last year, Apple Music has more than 20 million subscribers.

Editor: Nancy