03 April 2018
Latham & Watkins represented Spotify Technology S.A., (“Spotify”), the world’s largest global music streaming subscription service, in its groundbreaking direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares began trading under the ticker symbol “SPOT” on April 3, 2018. Unlike in a traditional initial public offering, Spotify did not offer any new shares and there were no underwriters. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Morgan Stanley, and Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisors to Spotify.
“It was a real pleasure to work with Spotify on this first-of-its kind deal,” said Greg Rodgers, partner at Latham & Watkins and co-leader of the deal team that advised Spotify. “Executing a deal with this degree of innovation required a full team effort from so many pockets of expertise, and it was a genuine pleasure to see our team rise to the challenge.”
"Our partnership with the Latham & Watkins team in the context of our unique approach to listing has been fantastic,” said Horacio Gutierrez, General Counsel and VP Business & Legal Affairs at Spotify. “Not only has the quality of their service and substantive knowledge been consistently top notch, but their team has been always responsive and open to working with us to develop innovative approaches.”
Partners Greg Rodgers, Marc Jaffe and Ben Cohen led the Latham team that advised Spotify, a Luxembourg company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, on the direct listing, with New York associates Brittany Ruiz, Naseem Faqihi Alawadhi, and Sandy Kugbei, and Washington, D.C. associates Julia Thompson, Nicole Fritz, Darren Jackson, and Jonathan Drory. Advice was also provided on securities law matters by Washington, D.C. partner Alex Cohen, Washington D.C. counsel Paul Dudek, and New York partner Dana Fleischman; on tax matters by New York partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim; on benefits & compensation matters by New York partner Lori Goodman, with New York associate Anisha Mehta; and on matters related to the New York Stock Exchange by New York associate Gaily Neely.