Overview
- Pershing Square, which unveiled the plan Tuesday, valued UMG at €30.40 per share (about $35) and the stock jumped roughly 11% to 13% in Amsterdam trading.
- Under the terms, UMG would merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings to form a Nevada company listed on the NYSE, and each UMG share would receive €5.05 in cash plus 0.77 shares of the new stock.
- Pershing detailed financing of €2.5 billion from its own equity, about €5.4 billion in new investment‑grade debt, and roughly €1.5 billion from selling UMG’s Spotify stake, with €750 million of those Spotify proceeds going to artists.
- The proposal calls for Michael Ovitz to become chair, a new employment deal for CEO Lucian Grainge, U.S. GAAP reporting with a push for index inclusion, and the cancellation of about 17% of shares.
- Ackman said Bolloré, which holds about 18% of UMG, signaled support during pre‑announcement talks, yet the company and major holders have not publicly committed, and the non‑binding deal still needs shareholder and regulatory approvals with closing targeted by late 2026.