Digital music giant Spotify is now worth more than $26bn after a better-than-expected float on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Swedish company’s shares opened at $165.90 (£118), significantly higher than the $132 guide price set by the stock exchange earlier this week, before dropping down to $149.01.
The initial public offering (IPO) means Spotify is now worth approximately $26.5bn, well above the value of other tech firms such as Twitter ($20.69bn).
Co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek said earlier this week that the float puts Spotify on “on a bigger stage”.
However, he insisted that the initial public offering would not “change who we are, what we are about, or how we operate”.
Spotify floated on the New York Stock Exchange without selling new shares, a move which was described as unusual.
In a recent regulatory filing, Spotify said that it had 159 million monthly users including 71 million paying subscribers.