Spotify is set to go public, but its unusual approach comes with some risks - The Washington Post

IPO different; also see Here’s why Spotify’s direct listing is an inflection point in the Wall Street-Silicon Valley relationship (Recode)

"It will also not be selling any new company shares. Instead, company insiders and investors will be selling their existing stock. Many of these employees typically would have been barred from selling their stock for at least 180 days in a traditional IPO, Kennedy said. A direct listing eliminates those restrictions and allows them to potentially profit from the IPO immediately.

“You don’t want to underestimate how important it is to insiders to be able to sell right away,” Kennedy said. “In the short term, they are the ones benefiting” from a public debut.

The direct listing also bypasses another Wall Street tradition: offering shares of an IPO to hedge funds and other preferred investors at a discount, said Jay Ritter, a business professor at the University of Florida, who tracks IPO data. These investors typically see the value of their shares rise quickly and sell them, pocketing a quick profit, he said."

Spotify is set to go public, but its unusual approach comes with some risks - The Washington Post