Spotify Co-Founder Martin Lorentzon Sold $40 Million in Stock, Still Owns Shares Worth $4 Billion
Martin Lorentzon, co-founder of Spotify and the streaming-music giant’s largest shareholder, registered a $40 million sale of the company’s shares in July, according to a regulatory filing.
Lorentzon, who founded Spotify with Daniel Ek in 2006, registered the sale of 222,300 shares on July 11, according to a disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He still owns stock in the company currently worth around $4.1 billion.
The stock sale by Lorentzon was first reported by Swedish tech-news site Di Digital. It’s believed to be the first shares he has sold since Spotify’s unusual direct-listed public offering in April on the New York Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, Spotify CEO Ek made his first post-IPO sale about a month ago — in a transaction worth just under $10 million — while he also registered intent to sell stock worth $80 million over a year-long period, per Di Digital.
In addition, Sony Music Entertainment sold 50% of its shares in Spotify in the first month after the company’s shares were publicly listed and the music company has shared the $750 million it netted from the sale with its artists and labels.
Earlier this month, Warner Music Group announced that it sold its Spotify shares to reap $504 million (and WMG also shared the proceeds with artists and labels). Universal Music Group still retains ownership of its 3.5% stake in Spotify.
Lorentzon’s Rosello holding company made the disclosure with the SEC under the agency’s Rule 144, which stipulates that affiliates of any securities issuer file documentation about stock sales that exceed 5,000 shares or units or have an aggregate sales price of $50,000 or more.
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