Spotify investor favors spring listing

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Venture Capital firm Northzone, one of the largest stakeholders in Spotify, would like to see the music streaming company’s flotation in the spring, depending on market sentiment, one of its partners said on Thursday.

Par-Jorgen Parson, who is also a former board member at Spotify, said he did not know about the exact plans but believed that the company had cleared a major hurdle this year by signing new content deals.

“I think some time during the spring would probably be a good (flotation) time for us... (but) it’s all about market sentiment now,” Parson told Reuters on the sidelines of the Slush tech start-up conference in Helsinki.

Sources told Reuters in September that the company was aiming to file its intention to float with U.S. regulators in order to list in the first half of 2018. They said private trades suggested a valuation at around $16 billion and that it could be worth at least $20 billion when listed.

Asked about such a valuation, Parson said: “I don’t think it’s too far off to be speculating around those numbers.”

Spotify, Europe’s biggest technology venture, is pursuing a so-called direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), allowing existing investors to sell shares without raising money from new ones, sources have told Reuters.

Parson said he would keep the company’s focus on growth going forward.

“There’s massive headroom in the markets they are in, from a growth standpoint,” he added.

Northzone first invested in Spotify in 2008 and remains one of the biggest shareholders, he added.