On what date did Spotify go public via direct listing?

Spotify went public through a direct listing on April 3, 2018.

Instead of selling newly issued shares to raise capital, Spotify allowed existing shareholders and employees to sell their shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange. This made the event a direct listing rather than a conventional initial public offering, or IPO.

The company’s NYSE debut was closely watched because it challenged the traditional process used by technology companies entering public markets. Spotify did not rely on the usual underwritten share sale to set an offering price. Its reference price was $132 per share, while trading opened at $165.90.

A direct listing also meant Spotify avoided the same kind of lockup structure commonly associated with IPOs. The date is sometimes confused with the filing and preparation period, but the actual market debut occurred on April 3, 2018, under the ticker symbol SPOT.