Overview
- The UMG Board unanimously declined Pershing Square’s unsolicited proposal on Friday May 29 after advisers concluded the offer materially undervalued the company and would not deliver superior value for stakeholders.
- Pershing Square’s April proposal offered about €30.40 per share in a cash-and-stock structure that reporters calculated would value UMG at roughly $64–65 billion and included a mix of cash and new UMG stock.
- UMG said it has already widened a planned share buyback program and will monetize half of its Spotify holding as part of a capital-allocation plan intended to increase shareholder returns.
- Major shareholders, including the Bolloré family and Vivendi, publicly signalled opposition to the bid, and Pershing Square had no immediate on-record response to the board’s rejection.
- Since listing in 2021 UMG has reported roughly 60% revenue growth and nearly 70% adjusted EBITDA growth, and the company says it will press its long-term strategy and improved disclosure while the takeover bid remains stalled.