Spotify files for direct listing of up to $1 billion

(Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify on Wednesday became the first major company to file for a direct listing of up to $1 billion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A direct listing is an unconventional way to pursue an IPO without raising new capital, helping the company eliminate the need for a Wall Street bank or broker to underwrite the public offer.

The company would seek to list its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SPOT." bit.ly/2F0OfCU

Spotify is the biggest global music streaming company and counts tech giants Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) as its main rivals.

The Swedish company’s 2017 revenue came in at 4.09 billion euros ($4.99 billion) compared with 2.95 billion euros a year earlier, Spotify said in its filing.

Its operating loss widened to 378 million euros in 2017 from 349 million euros a year earlier.

Spotify is present in more than 60 countries, with a total of 71 million premium subscribers and about 159 million monthly average users.

To be sure, the amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filing is usually a temporary placeholder.