Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Offers to Acquire Universal Music Group for $63.5 Billion

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management unveiled a non-binding proposal to the board of directors of music giant Universal Music Group , the musical home of such stars as Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, to acquire all of its outstanding shares in a mega-transaction valued at around $63.5 billion, “together with a value creation plan designed to deliver significant benefits to UMG stakeholders.” Pershing, which has owned a stake in the music major since 2021, said its offer values each share of UMG at €30.40, putting the total value of UMG under the overall deal at about €55 billion, or $63.5 billion. Related Stories Music Kanye West Pledges to Meet U.K. Jewish Leaders Amid Wireless Festival Controversy Music Wireless Festival Head Defends Kanye West Booking: "Offer Some Forgiveness and Hope" “Since UMG’s [stock market] listing, [UMG chairman and CEO] Sir Lucian Grainge and the company’s management have done an excellent job nurturing and continuing to build a world-class artist roster and generating strong business performance,” said Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman . “However, UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business and importantly, all of them can be addressed with this transaction.” Pershing Square said it “believes that UMG’s stock price underperformance is principally due to the following factors”: Uncertainty concerning the Bolloré Group’s 18 percent stake in the company, the postponement of UMG’s U.S. [stock market] listing, the underutilization of UMG’s balance sheet, which has led to reduced returns on equity, the absence of a publicly disclosed capital allocation plan and earnings algorithm, the lack of investor credit in UMG’s valuation f...