Business

Spotify job posting sparks rumors of IPO plans

Nothing to see here, folks!

Streaming music company Spotify revamped an otherwise dull job posting for a financial specialist on Monday after too many references to the Securities and Exchange Commission spurred speculation that the Swedish company’s execs have visions of ticker symbols dancing in their heads.

The original job posting, for an “external reporting specialist” at Spotify’s Stockholm headquarters, referred six times to SEC filings and the SEC, which oversees all US publicly traded companies.

Spotify, in the morning posting, said it was seeking a candidate who could “prepare the company for SEC filing standards,” and who has “experience in preparing SEC reports” like 10-Qs and 10-Ks.

But by Monday afternoon, all six references to the SEC had been deleted, and a more generic version of the job posting was published on the company’s website and on job networking site LinkedIn.

“It was changed so that the position would not be misconstrued,” a person close to Spotify told The Post. “It’s a general financial position,” this person said.

Experts agreed, however, that hiring someone to report financial documents to the SEC can mean only one thing: Spotify’s executives are thinking about taking the company public.

“Hiring someone with those skills sets would be consistent with preparing to go public,” Jonathan Abram, a lawyer with Dorsey & Whitney, said of the original job posting.

And Spotify’s attempt to quell speculation by erasing any mention of SEC filings only adds to the evidence that it’s gearing up for an IPO, he said.

“They don’t want to look like they’re promoting the idea of an offering before they have filed,” said Abram, who helps take companies public.

A Spotify spokesman declined to comment on any potential IPO plans.

Spotify is among the most-anticipated tech IPOs.

With 24 million active users and 6 million paying subscribers, Spotify could be valued as high as $8 billion, Reuters reported.

Whether Spotify takes the IPO leap remains to be seen, but going public is easier now than ever before for small companies, thanks to the JOBS Act, passed in 2012 to stimulate small business growth.

If Spotify qualifies as an “emerging growth company” under the new law, it can submit a confidential draft registration to the SEC to test the waters before revealing its offering plan to the public.

Microblogging company Twitter filed its IPO this way last year.

Spotify, in 2012, had revenue of $571 million and a net loss of $78 million, according to a regulatory filing in its home country of Luxembourg.

Spotify, which competes with Pandora, Rdio and the newly launched Beats Music, launched in the US in 2011.

The music company recently boasted 24 million active users, up from 10 million in 2010, and 6 million paying subscribers, up from 2.5 million in 2010.