![](\"https:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/.image\/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200\/MTg0MDI1NDExNzMzMTY5ODY1\/universal-music-group.jpg\")
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Bill Ackman\u2019s Pershing Square on Tuesday offered to acquire Universal Music Group in a bid valuing the company at about $64 billion.<\/p>\n
The proposal would move the world\u2019s largest record label from Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange, betting that U.S. markets would assign a higher valuation to the company behind Taylor Swift, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny.<\/p>\n
The offer comes as Universal\u2019s shares have lost nearly a third of their value since the company\u2019s 2021 IPO, even as the global recorded-music market has continued to grow.<\/p>\n
Ackman argues the problem lies less with the business than with the stock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUMG\u2019s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business,\u201d Ackman said Tuesday, \u201cand importantly, all of them can be addressed with this transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
His offer would give Universal shareholders \u20ac9.4 billion (around $11 billion) cash plus 0.77 shares in a newly listed U.S. company for each share they own, implying a value of about \u20ac30.40 (around $35) a share, a 78% premium to where the stock closed last week.<\/p>\n
The activist investor is proposing a complex transaction that would merge Universal with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, his acquisition vehicle. The plan also calls for a reworked balance sheet and a new board led by former Hollywood superagent and Disney president Michael Ovitz, while keeping Chief Executive Lucian Grainge in place.<\/p>\n
Universal Music Group and Vivendi didn\u2019t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson from Pershing Square declined to comment beyond the firm\u2019s public materials.<\/p>\n
Taylor Swift is one of Universal Music Group’s most successful artists. <\/p>\n
Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA on Getty Images<\/p>\n
The shareholder battlefield<\/p>\n
Any deal faces a formidable obstacle: Vincent Bollor\u00e9.<\/p>\n
The 74-year-old French billionaire\u2019s Bollor\u00e9 Group owns 18.5% of Universal directly and has additional exposure through Vivendi, which holds 13.4%. Through those stakes, Bollor\u00e9 commands a large majority of Universal\u2019s voting rights, more than is required to approve the deal.<\/p>\n
Ackman\u2019s pursuit of Universal has been years in the making. In 2021, he announced plans to buy a 10% stake through a SPAC, but the effort ran into resistance from regulators and shareholders. He ultimately bought the stake through his hedge fund instead.<\/p>\n
Related: Verizon raises price on key discounted offer for customers<\/p>\n
Ackman joined Universal\u2019s board in 2022 and stepped down in 2025. More recently, Universal delayed its long-planned U.S. listing because of market conditions, a setback that appeared to strengthen Ackman\u2019s argument that a broader transaction might be the cleaner route.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Universal shares rose as much as 13% on Tuesday before paring gains to trade about 10% higher, still well below Pershing\u2019s proposed valuation. Vivendi and Bollor\u00e9 Group shares also moved higher.<\/p>\n
A music giant at a crossroads<\/p>\n
The offer comes at a turbulent moment for the music business.<\/p>\n
Universal controls more than 30% of the global recorded-music market, alongside Sony Music and Warner Music Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Streaming helped rescue the industry from the piracy-era collapse of the 2000s, but growth has slowed, and labels face pressure from the platforms that distribute their music.<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence has added a new source of disruption.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AI-generated songs and deepfakes have intensified copyright disputes and raised new questions about how labels protect artists and monetize their catalogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the transaction closes by year-end, as Pershing expects, the newly listed U.S. company would inherit a catalog stretching from the Beatles to Bad Bunny, as well as assets including the legendary recording studios \u2013 Abbey Road Studios \u2013 where The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Oasis, Radiohead, and Adele recorded their award-winning albums.<\/p>\n
Related: Goldman Sachs resets Netflix stock price target for rest of 2026<\/p>\n
#Bill #Ackman #bids #billion #Universal #Music #Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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