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(Reuters) -LG Electronics India is seeking a valuation of up to 774 billion rupees ($8.71 billion) in its long-delayed initial public offering, tapping into a bustling IPO market with one of India's largest offerings so far this year. The appliance maker set a price band of 1,080-1,140 rupees per share, a public filing showed on Wednesday. The three-day share sale opens for bidding on October 7. Large anchor investors will be able to place bids on October 6. The IPO will raise up to 116 billion rupees at the top of the price range for its Korean parent LG Electronics Inc , which is offloading a 15% stake in the company. LG Electronics India is not issuing new shares in the offering. Having initially filed for an IPO last December, LG Electronics had sought a listing by May, but delayed the share sale, citing market volatility. October is a busy month for IPOs in India, with non-bank lender Tata Capital's $1.75 billion issue — the country's largest this year — and shared office space provider WeWork's offering scheduled to run around the same time. ($1 = 88.8310 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru, Chris Thomas in Mexico City; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Shailesh Kuber and Alan Barona)

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(Reuters) -LG Electronics India is seeking a valuation of up to 774 billion rupees ($8.71 billion) in its long-delayed initial public offering, tapping into a bustling IPO market with one of India's largest offerings so far this year. The appliance maker set a price band of 1,080-1,140 rupees per share, a public filing showed on Wednesday. The three-day share sale opens for bidding on October 7. Large anchor investors will be able to place bids on October 6. The IPO will raise up to 116 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) at the top of the price range for its Korean parent LG Electronics Inc, which is offloading a 15% stake in the company. LG Electronics India is not issuing new shares in the offering. Having initially filed for an IPO last December, LG Electronics had sought a listing by May, but delayed the share sale, citing market volatility. October is a busy month for IPOs in India, with non-bank lender Tata Capital's $1.75 billion issue — the country's largest this year — and shared office space provider WeWork's offering scheduled to run around the same time. The IPO also comes after the Indian tax body lowered consumption taxes on a wide range of goods including electronics to 18% from 28%, in a bid to spur demand for the lucrative festive season. LG Electronics, India's second-largest appliance maker, sells products such as refrigerators, washing machines and televisions. It competes with Whirlpool and Samsung in the domestic market, which is expected to grow 12% annually till 2029, according to consultancy firm RedSeer. The offering will be the latest in a long line of companies tapping India's capital markets this year. Companies in India raised about 909.8 billion rupees through IPOs as of September 30, up from 770.6 billion rupees in the same period last year, according to data compiled by LSEG. ($1 = 88.8310 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru, Chris Thomas in Mexico City; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Shailesh Kuber and Alan Barona)

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By Aditya Soni (Reuters) -Popular NBC shows including "Sunday Night Football" and "America's Got Talent" may disappear from YouTube TV as soon as Tuesday if the two sides fail to agree on a new distribution deal, a standoff that could influence the future of television. Carriage talks have stalled over the rates Alphabet's YouTube TV will pay to distribute to its 10 million subscribers the shows of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, the two companies have said. But a bigger negotiation looms behind the scenes, and it reflects the newfound clout of YouTube as the dominant provider of video services in the United States. YouTube TV wants to show content offered exclusively on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service – such as hit reality series "Love Island" – directly on its platform, a person familiar with the talks told Reuters. Currently, users have to open the Peacock app to see the shows, even on YouTube TV.  Known as "direct ingestion," it is an approach that NBCUniversal opposes, as it wants to preserve Peacock – which it launched in 2020 – as a standalone service that can collect subscriber data and sell targeted ads. For YouTube, securing NBC content would aid its push to become the country's biggest pay-TV distributor and strengthen the core ad business of Google – which is also owned by Alphabet – on smart TVs, where ad slots command premium rates.  These battles "will have important strategic implications for the future of media," LightShed analyst Richard Greenfield said in a note to clients. Disney's carriage deal with YouTube TV is also up for renewal at the end of October and similar talks will likely occur then, he said. "We suspect YouTube TV cares far less about the rate it ultimately pays and far more about being able to ingest content from legacy media streaming apps," he said. YOUTUBE'S GROWING CLOUT YouTube now accounts for the largest share of TV viewing in the U.S., ahead of streaming rival Netflix and traditional media companies such as Disney, according to Nielsen. Its cable-like subscription service, YouTube TV, ranks among the four largest U.S. pay-TV distributors, and Alphabet's deep pockets recently gave it leverage over Paramount and Fox Corp in carriage talks, according to media firms and analysts.  NBCUniversal offered YouTube the same terms it extended to other large TV distributors – including Amazon's Prime Video Channels – and is looking to include its streaming service as part of the bundle of programming YouTube TV distributes, said the person familiar with the negotiations, who requested anonymity because the talks were private. An NBCUniversal spokesperson said in a statement last week: "YouTube TV has refused the best rates and terms in the market, demanding preferential treatment and seeking an unfair advantage over competitors to dominate the video marketplace — all under the false pretense of fighting for the consumer."  The online video service counters, however, that NBCUniversal is asking for YouTube TV to pay more for its shows than the media company charges consumers for the same content on Peacock. The company said in a blog post on Thursday that it would offer YouTube TV subscribers a $10 credit if NBC content is "unavailable for an extended period of time."  Analysts believe that losing carriage on YouTube TV could cut affiliate revenue and shrink subscriber bases for traditional media companies, with little assurance that viewers will migrate to their standalone streaming apps.  For Google, losing NBC content could weaken YouTube TV's appeal on connected TVs. The talks will also have major implications for Spanish-language media. Univision, owned by TelevisaUnivision, has said YouTube TV plans to move its channels into a pricier tier that would impose what it calls a "Hispanic tax" of 18%.    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday urged YouTube to reverse its Univision decision, alleging the company was "targeting" the network for hosting a 2024 town hall with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Paxton said his office would act to keep Univision accessible if YouTube's actions violated state law. YouTube said TelevisaUnivision accounts for only a small share of viewing on its pay TV service and that it remains committed to a deal reflecting the network’s performance and pricing. If NBCUniversal's content including Telemundo is also dropped, it would deprive YouTube TV of a giant slice of Spanish-language broadcast programming.  (Reporting by Aditya Soni in San Francisco; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Matthew Lewis)

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By Deepa Seetharaman and Dawn Chmielewski (Reuters) -OpenAI is releasing an AI video-generating app called Sora that lets people create and share AI videos that can be spun from copyrighted content and shared to social media-like streams.   Copyright owners, such as television and movie studios, must opt out of having their work appear in the video feed, company officials said, describing it as a continuation of its prior policy toward image generation.   The copyright policy is likely to ruffle feathers throughout Hollywood.  The ChatGPT-maker has been in talks with a variety of copyright holders in recent weeks to discuss the policy, company officials said. At least one major studio, Disney, has already opted out of having their material appear in the app, people familiar with the matter said.  Earlier this year, OpenAI pressed the Trump administration to declare that training AI models on copyrighted material fell under the "fair use" provision in copyright law.  "Applying the fair use doctrine to AI is not only a matter of American competitiveness — it’s a matter of national security," OpenAI argued in March.  Without this step, it said at the time, U.S. AI companies would lose their edge over rivals in China.  OpenAI officials said it put measures in place to block people from creating videos of public figures or other users of the app without permission. Public figures and others’ likeness cannot be used until they upload their own AI-generated video and give their permission. One such step is a "liveness check" where the app prompts a user to move their head in different directions and recite a random string of numbers. Users will be able to see drafts of videos that involve their likeness.  Videos in the Sora app can be up to 10 seconds long. OpenAI built a feature it calls Cameo that will let users create realistic-looking AI versions of themselves and insert themselves into AI-generated scenes.  "Our companies are in the business of competing for time and modifying consumer behavior," Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said in a research note, adding he saw Sora app as a direct competitor to longstanding social media and digital content platforms from Meta, Google, TikTok and others. (Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman in San Francisco and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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By Milana Vinn, Federico Maccioni and Zaheer Kachwala LONDON(Reuters) -For years, tech-focused buyout group Silver Lake coveted video game developer Electronic Arts, the power behind the popular "Battlefield" and "Madden NFL" series. In a brainstorming session this spring, Silver Lake investors and U.S. President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner started hammering out plans for what became the world's largest leveraged buyout, three sources familiar with the talks said. One of the people said the talks started between Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban and Kushner. Backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the $55 billion deal announced on Monday will enlarge Silver Lake's games, sports and entertainment portfolio while giving the sovereign wealth fund an asset it may want to hold on to for a long time, the sources said. EA was first approached in the summer, the people said. PIF will end up as EA's majority shareholder while Kushner's private equity fund Affinity Partners will own 5%, one of the people said. Given that PIF already owned almost 10% of EA before the deal, according to LSEG data, and had gaming investments, it made sense for Silver Lake to look at the fund as a natural partner, the person added, noting that Kushner played an important role in brokering it. Kushner, a top aide to Trump during his father-in-law's first term in the White House, founded Affinity in 2021 and has investments from funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He said in Monday's announcement that he grew up playing EA games and enjoys playing them with his children. Durban added that EA was special and said the consortium will invest heavily to grow the business worldwide and accelerate innovation. EA and a spokesperson for the consortium declined to comment. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has said he enjoys unwinding by playing video games with friends and his children, has laid out his ambition for his country to be the "global hub for games and esports" by 2030. "Every year we have a 15% to 25% profit so it's really amazing and we do not want to miss that," the Prince said in a Fox News interview two years ago, referring to PIF's annual return on investments in professional video game competitions called esports, in which players or teams vie for prize money. "This isn't just a spreadsheet deal. It's Saudi Arabia buying time, talent, and cultural clout in one shot," said Joost van Dreunen, games professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. "It puts a trophy IP house at the tip of the Saudi Vision 2030 spear, backed by a government that has earmarked $38 billion for games and sees interactive entertainment as both soft power and long-run monetization." As part of that goal, the almost $1 trillion Public Investment Fund has made major outlays in video game publishers in recent years through its Savvy Games Group. The investments, including a stake in "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard and holdings of about 4% in Nintendo and about 6% in Take-Two Interactive, are part of the kingdom's Saudi Vision 2030 plan to diversify away from oil by pouring billions into other sectors. EA's well-known franchises and brands, as well as the chance for PIF to bring game-developing capabilities to the kingdom, helped convince the fund to double down on its investment, one of the people said. Saudi's esports foundation has announced a new tournament for national teams next year, with EA as a partner. Qiddiya, one of PIF's infrastructure giga-projects in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, aims to attract 10 million visitors per year to its esports and gaming district by 2030, the wealth fund said this year. Branded as the 'city of play', Qiddiya is focused on entertainment and tourism, with the goal of incubating 30 leading video game development companies. The consortium is investing $36 billion in the EA buyout, including PIF's existing stake, supported by $20 billion in debt financed by JPMorgan, EA said Monday. The financing was possible due to a dearth of deals for investors in leveraged loans, as private equity firms have largely stayed on the sidelines in recent years, one of the sources and a fourth person with knowledge of the deal said. EA shareholders will receive $210 per share in cash, a 25% premium over the stock's closing price on September 25 before reports of a deal emerged. Some analysts consider that as too little. "The true earnings power of EA is only beginning to emerge," Benchmark analysts said. EA stock was trading near all-time highs, according to LSEG data. While the merger agreement allows 45 days for a superior bid to emerge, Van Dreunen saw that as unlikely to happen. "Matching it would require deep pockets and a high tolerance for scrutiny. A strategic bidder would face antitrust and cultural blowback, while private equity would struggle to pencil the leverage," he said. The deal will require regulatory approvals but is unlikely to face headwinds, some analysts said. "Given today's broadly constructive Western-Saudi ties, the consortium is more likely to face "box-ticking" reviews and a few raised eyebrows than outright resistance, as implied by the Q2 2026 expected closing date," said David O'Hara, of MKP advisors in a note published on Monday.  (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York, Federico Maccioni in Dubai and Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Writing by Anousha Sakoui; Editing by Richard Chang)

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By Jody Godoy (Reuters) -Zillow allegedly paid Redfin $100 million to stop competing against it in online apartment rental listings, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday in a lawsuit against the online real estate platforms.  The agency said the alleged deal reduces competition in an already concentrated market and is likely to drive up the cost of advertising vacancies in rental buildings with more than 25 units. The deal also reduces the incentive for the companies to compete by making their sites easier for renters to use, the FTC said in the lawsuit filed in Alexandria, Virginia. “Paying off a competitor to stop competing against you is a violation of federal antitrust laws,” said Daniel Guarnera, who leads the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.  The case targets a deal that happened in February, after President Donald Trump took office, showing the Republican-led agency is willing to take on big corporations over alleged violations. The FTC also sued Uber and Live Nation this year accusing them of violating consumer protection laws.  A Zillow spokesperson said the arrangement benefits renters and property managers. "We remain confident in this partnership and the enhanced value it has delivered and will continue to deliver to consumers," the spokesperson said. Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman said at the time that the deal, which includes an agreement for Redfin to display Zillow's listings on its site, would result in "more apartments available across more platforms." Zillow runs listing sites Trulia, HotPads and StreetEasy, while Redfin operates Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com. A spokesperson for Redfin did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday.  Under the companies' agreement, the FTC said, Redfin transferred the bulk of its online apartment rentals business and agreed to stay out of the market for up to nine years. Redfin also agreed to help Zillow hire the sales force it fired, and to transition customers to Zillow's platform, the agency said.  Rocket Companies owns Redfin, having completed its acquisition of the company in July.  (Reporting by Christian Martinez and Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler, Daniel Wallis and Franklin Paul)

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By Jody Godoy (Reuters) -Zillow allegedly paid Redfin $100 million to stop competing against it in online apartment rental listings, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday in a lawsuit against the online real estate platforms.  The agency said the alleged deal reduces competition in an already concentrated market and is likely to drive up the cost of advertising vacancies in rental buildings with more than 25 units. The deal also reduces the incentive for the companies to compete by making their sites easier for renters to use, the FTC said in the lawsuit filed in Alexandria, Virginia. “Paying off a competitor to stop competing against you is a violation of federal antitrust laws,” said Daniel Guarnera, who leads the FTC’s bureau of competition.  The case targets a deal that happened in February, after President Donald Trump took office, showing the Republican-led agency is willing to take on big corporations over alleged violations. The FTC also sued Uber and Live Nation this year accusing them of violating consumer protection laws.  A Zillow spokesperson said the arrangement benefits renters and property managers. "We remain confident in this partnership and the enhanced value it has delivered and will continue to deliver to consumers," the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for Redfin did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday.  Under the companies' agreement, the FTC said, Redfin transferred the bulk of its online apartment rentals business and agreed to stay out of the market for up to nine years. Redfin also agreed to help Zillow hire the sales force it fired, and to transition customers to Zillow's platform, the agency said.  Rocket Companies owns Redfin, having completed its acquisition of the company in July.  (Reporting by Christian Martinez and Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis)

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By Scott Murdoch SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Seven West Media said it would merge with Southern Cross Media to create a A$417 million ($273.97 million) metropolitan and regional media group to better compete with global streaming platforms. Seven West shares, controlled by mining and media billionaire Kerry Stokes, were up 7% on Tuesday to A$0.15, while Southern Cross stock was 6.6% higher. Stokes' Seven Group holds about 40% of Seven West. Under the deal, Seven West shareholders would receive 0.1552 Southern Cross Media shares for each share held. The offer values Seven West shares at A$0.13 each, slightly below the stock's A$0.14 closing price on Monday. The combined group will be worth A$417 million based on the current market capitalisations of both entities. Southern Cross owns major radio networks and podcast platforms across Australia, while Seven West holds metropolitan and regional television licences. Southern Cross announced the sale of its remaining regional television businesses to Seven West for up to A$24 million in May. MERGER COMBINES RADIO AND TV ASSETS Southern Cross shareholders will own 50.1% of the merged group while Seven West will hold 49.9%, the companies said. "Southern Cross is a much better business with an audio focus and going to buy old world media assets like television and print businesses" said Gabriel Radzyminski, founder of activist investor Sandon Capital which owns 11.2% of Southern Cross. "They are adding different businesses to the portfolio which from a Southern Cross perspective makes it worse." Sandon is trying to vote the Southern Cross board out at the company's annual meeting due in November. A Southern Cross spokesperson said the company would engage with all of its investors on the bid, which was backed by both groups' boards. Free-to-air television in Australia, like all major markets, has faced severe revenue and earnings pressure from streaming giants like Netflix, Paramount Skydance and Walt Disney. MERGER TO COUNTER STREAMING GIANTS "We have both (Southern Cross and Seven West) been on the record as being substantial advocates of consolidation," Southern Cross CEO John Kelly said. "It needs to happen, we need to take the mantle and really fight back against the global behemoths." The deal requires 75% support from Seven West shareholders at a meeting that will be held in the first quarter of 2026, the companies said, once the deal receives regulatory approvals. Communications and competition regulators, as well as the Australian Securities Exchange, must sign off on the transaction. Seven West said that the board unanimously recommended that its shareholders to vote in favour of the merger, with all directors also pledging to support the deal. Seven West's current CEO Jeff Howard will lead the combined entity, the broadcaster said. The company added that both boards expect to record annual pre-tax cost savings of A$25 million to A$30 million ($16.44 million to $19.73 million) in the next 18 to 24 months. ($1 = 1.5221 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney; additional reporting Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona, Jamie Freed and Louise Heavens)

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By Aditya Soni (Reuters) -Popular NBC shows including "Sunday Night Football" and "America's Got Talent" may disappear from YouTube TV as soon as Tuesday if the two sides fail to agree on a new distribution deal, a standoff that could influence the future of television. Carriage talks have stalled over the rates Alphabet's YouTube TV will pay to distribute to its 10 million subscribers the shows of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, the two companies have said. But a bigger negotiation looms behind the scenes, and it reflects the newfound clout of YouTube as the dominant provider of video services in the United States. YouTube TV wants to show content offered exclusively on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service – such as hit reality series "Love Island" – directly on its platform, a person familiar with the talks told Reuters. Currently, users have to open the Peacock app to see the shows, even on YouTube TV.  Known as "direct ingestion," it is an approach that NBCUniversal opposes, as it wants to preserve Peacock – which it launched in 2020 – as a standalone service that can collect subscriber data and sell targeted ads. For YouTube, securing NBC content would aid its push to become the country's biggest pay-TV distributor and strengthen the core ad business of Google – which is also owned by Alphabet – on smart TVs, where ad slots command premium rates.  These battles "will have important strategic implications for the future of media," LightShed analyst Richard Greenfield said in a note to clients. Disney's carriage deal with YouTube TV is also up for renewal at the end of October and similar talks will likely occur then, he said. "We suspect YouTube TV cares far less about the rate it ultimately pays and far more about being able to ingest content from legacy media streaming apps," he said. YOUTUBE'S GROWING CLOUT YouTube now accounts for the largest share of TV viewing in the U.S., ahead of streaming rival Netflix and traditional media companies such as Disney, according to Nielsen. Its cable-like subscription service, YouTube TV, ranks among the four largest U.S. pay-TV distributors, and Alphabet's deep pockets recently gave it leverage over Paramount and Fox Corp in carriage talks, according to media firms and analysts.  NBCUniversal offered YouTube the same terms it extended to other large TV distributors – including Amazon's Prime Video Channels – and is looking to include its streaming service as part of the bundle of programming YouTube TV distributes, said the person familiar with the negotiations, who requested anonymity because the talks were private. An NBCUniversal spokesperson said in a statement last week: "YouTube TV has refused the best rates and terms in the market, demanding preferential treatment and seeking an unfair advantage over competitors to dominate the video marketplace — all under the false pretense of fighting for the consumer."  The online video service counters, however, that NBCUniversal is asking for YouTube TV to pay more for its shows than the media company charges consumers for the same content on Peacock. The company said in a blog post on Thursday that it would offer YouTube TV subscribers a $10 credit if NBC content is "unavailable for an extended period of time."  Analysts believe that losing carriage on YouTube TV could cut affiliate revenue and shrink subscriber bases for traditional media companies, with little assurance that viewers will migrate to their standalone streaming apps.  For Google, losing NBC content could weaken YouTube TV's appeal on connected TVs. The talks will also have major implications for Spanish-language media. Univision, owned by TelevisaUnivision, has said YouTube TV plans to move its channels into a pricier tier that would impose what it calls a "Hispanic tax" of 18%.    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday urged YouTube to reverse its Univision decision, alleging the company was "targeting" the network for hosting a 2024 town hall with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Paxton said his office would act to keep Univision accessible if YouTube's actions violated state law. YouTube said TelevisaUnivision accounts for only a small share of viewing on its pay TV service and that it remains committed to a deal reflecting the network’s performance and pricing. If NBCUniversal's content including Telemundo is also dropped, it would deprive YouTube TV of a giant slice of Spanish-language broadcast programming.  (Reporting by Aditya Soni in San Francisco; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Matthew Lewis)

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By Jaspreet Singh and Supantha Mukherjee (Reuters) -Spotify founder-CEO Daniel Ek will step down to become executive chairman in January, the Swedish streaming company said on Tuesday as it adopts a new co-CEO structure in its strategy to fend off rivals and shore up its profit margin. Billionaire Ek, who built Spotify into a rare global consumer technology leader from the region, will step back from day-to-day business as the company charts out its plan to keep ahead of music offering from YouTube, Apple and Amazon. "Ek leaves the CEO role on a high note, with big boots to fill for the incoming CEOs," said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. The U.S. shares of Spotify were down about 5% after gaining 63% this year. Ek, a prominent tech entrepreneur of Europe, will focus on capital allocation and long-term strategy as executive chairman in what the company called a European-style role. "I will be more involved than a typical US chairman. So think of it a little bit like moving from a player to a coach," said Ek, who has been on the company's board since 2008. Spotify remains the clear market leader with nearly 700 million monthly users and more than 100 million tracks, far ahead of Apple Music's roughly 90 million subscribers.  But it faces competition from YouTube Music's vast video-integrated catalog and Amazon Music's Prime-linked offerings, which give rivals distinct advantages in certain markets. Despite Spotify's dominance, pressure on profit margins have persisted as artists push for higher payouts and the ad-supported tier expands. Global revenue from recorded music rose 4.8% to $29.6 billion in 2024. Streaming exceeded $20 billion for the first time and subscription streaming accounted for more than half of it, according to IFPI's Global Music Report. FROM STARTUP TO GIANT Founded in 2006, Stockholm-based Spotify helped transform a music industry that had been shrinking for years due to piracy and falling CD sales. Its U.S. debut in 2011 came as industry revenue had slumped. Still, the company reported its first annual profit only in 2024, after a slew of price increases and cost-cutting efforts. Billionaire Ek is often cited as a champion of Europe's ability to produce companies that can compete with U.S. and Asian tech giants. Soderstrom, currently chief product and technology officer, oversees global tech strategy and product development, while Norstrom, as chief business officer, manages subscriber and advertising businesses along with music, podcast and audiobook operations.  They will report to Ek who also serves on the board. The three executives have worked together for a decade and a half. "Norstrom is deeply interested in knowledge about product, and I'm very interested in business," Soderstrom said. "So we run this as a single team. Several high-profile firms such as Oracle and Netflix have adopted a co-CEO model to better manage their operations as they become more complex and globally diversified. The co-CEO model, which has become popular, has also drawn skepticism for creating blurred lines of authority. "The big unknown is why Spotify needs an executive chairman and two chief executives as that conjures up the idea that too many cooks spoil the broth," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Jaspreet Singh and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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