Ad Confirms Spotify Planning For IPO
A Spotify recruitment ad seeking to hire an External Reporting Specialist is fueling rumors that the music streamer is moving aggressively toward an IPO. The ad says the hire will "prepare the Company for international financial standards." as required by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines for any company planning an initial public stock offering.
The original version of the ad also named the SEC, according to Reuters. But any specific mention has been deleted from the post currently on Sptoify's job board.
In November, Spotify raised another $250 million in a funding round led by Silicon Valley firm Technology Crossover Ventures. Investors then were placing the valuation of the music streamer somewhere "north" of $4 billion, according to mutiple sources. A successful IPO could put Spotify's value north of $8 billion, one investment banker told Reuters.
Previous Spotify funding rounds from 2008-2012 totaled $288 million, with Goldman Sachs and Klein Perkins in for $100 million each. At $4 billion, Spotify's valuation was nearing Pandora's public market capitalization of $5.7 billion, according to the WSJ.
