Spotify finally went public through its untraditional IPO on the NYSE and listed directly. After seeing a drop in share value, it’s finally settling in around $140 now. Those that were already holding some Spotify stock, it was a very good day, especially for Sony.
Sony held 5.7 percent of Spotify through its Sony Music Entertainment arm, and sold under 20 percent of that when Spotify was listed, which resulted in a payout of around $177 million. Needless to say, it was a good day for the company.
Sony issued a press release based on stock prices at the NYSE on the close of Spotify’s IPO launch from three days ago. “The sum of the unrealized valuation gain (net) and the gain on the sale of shares (net) to be recorded for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019 would be approximately 105 billion yen in total.” Putting it in basic words, Sony could sell all of its Spotify stock if it wants and make close to $1 billion from the IPO. Of course it’s a completely different story if Sony does it, which it likely won’t, but the company made $177 million right off the bat.
