Spotify preparing to go public amid lawsuit woes

Spotify is gearing up to make its initial public offering (IPO), it has been reported.

According to Axios, the music streaming service – which is currently being sued for $1.6 billion (£1.18 billion) in unpaid royalties – confidentially filed IPO documents at the end of December.

The company is reportedly looking at a direct listing instead of a traditional float, which means it would be able to sell stock without a firm underwriting from an investment banking firm or broker-dealer.

While it has been suggested that Spotify is looking to float in time to list in Q1, it is unclear what impact the current lawsuit will have on those plans.

Spotify launched in 2008 and is currently valued at $19 billion, with more than 60 million paying subscribers.