Spotify Technology SA shares climbed in the minutes after it began trading through a direct listing.
The stock jumped 22 percent to $161.44 at 12:53 p.m. In New York after opening at $165.90 apiece. The company skipped the traditional initial public offering process in favor of a route rarely taken by large, established companies.
Based on the total number of shares outstanding after the listing, Spotify has a market value of about $28.7 billion.
Spotify isn’t selling any shares and there’s no lockup period for company insiders or, with one exception, current shareholders. That means the company’s first public share price, the open price, was set based purely on supply from existing shareholders wanting to sell stock and demand for those shares.
That’s in contrast with an IPO, in which the company and potentially a few existing shareholders offer a set number of shares at a valuation they think the market will bear. Then underwriters hammer out how many shares investors want and at what price.
Spotify’s stock got off the ground with the help of advisers Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Allen & Co. And designated market maker Citadel Securities LLC. Morgan Stanley was mandated to help Citadel Securities determine the open price based on supply and demand intel gleaned from conversations with existing and potential investors.
The shares are trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SPOT.