So, Bill Ackman wants to own the soundtrack to your life. Shares of Universal Music Group N.V. (UNVGY) jumped more than 11% on Tuesday after the hedge fund titan's Pershing Square offered to buy the world's biggest music label in a cash-and-stock deal worth around €55.8 billion, or roughly $64.4 billion.
Here's the deal: UMG shareholders would get €9.4 billion ($10.85 billion) in cash plus 0.77 shares of new stock for each share they own. That values the offer at €30.4 per share, which is a whopping 78% premium to where the stock closed on April 2. The plan is to wrap this up by the end of the year.
The mechanics are interesting. Pershing Square's SPARC Holdings would merge with UMG, and the new company would become a Nevada corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It's a big move to bring the label—home to superstars like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, and Drake—fully into the U.S. public markets.
The market loved it. UMG shares were up 11.37% in Amsterdam, and its parent company, Vivendi SE, surged 11.29% in Paris. Ackman pointed out that despite UMG's strong business performance, its stock price has been dragged down by issues unrelated to music—problems this transaction is meant to fix. The stock had fallen over 17% in the past year, so a 78% premium is quite the corrective.
This isn't a surprise move out of nowhere. Ackman has been setting the stage. Back in March 2025, he sold 2.7% of his UMG stake, raising more than $1.4 billion. Even after that sale, UMG remained his fund's largest holding. At the time, he said he was using registration rights to secure a U.S. exchange listing for later in 2025, believing it would be a major benefit for the company.
Then in May 2025, Ackman stepped down from UMG's board, citing new obligations related to Howard Hughes (HHH). And just last month, Pershing Square filed for U.S. IPOs of its main hedge fund and a new fund called Pershing Square USA. So, the guy has been busy rearranging his portfolio and corporate structures, and this massive bid for Universal Music looks like the next big piece of the puzzle.
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