NYSE Honors Spotify's (Swedish) Roots by Hoisting Swiss Flag

(Bloomberg) -- Whoops.

Even though Spotify Technology SA’s non-IPO means there was no ceremonial ringing of the opening bell or trading-floor interviews to mark its debut, its chosen venue -- the New York Stock Exchange -- still wanted the company to feel at home.

To extend a warm welcome, NYSE hung a large red-and-white Swiss flag outside the exchange on Tuesday, ahead of the music-streaming company’s debut. Just one problem: Spotify was founded in Sweden.

The exchange quickly realized its error and sent out a tweet acknowledging the faux pas, saying it hoped “everyone enjoyed our momentary ode to our neutral role in the process of price discovery this morning.”

Still, it gave Spotify watchers something to talk about while they waited for the shares to start trading. The stock took more than three hours to open, before making their debut at $165.90 apiece.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Fournier in New York at efournier5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Aaron Kirchfeld at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net, Chitra Somayaji

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