Universal Music Group Confirms Approach From Bill Ackman's Pershing Square
By Dominic Chopping
Universal Music Group confirmed that it received an unsolicited and non-binding proposal from Pershing Square Capital Management.
The confirmation comes after Bill Ackman's Pershing Square said Tuesday it had made an offer to buy the company in a cash and stock deal that values it at around $60 billion.
If approved, the deal would see Universal merge with specially-created acquisition vehicle Pershing Square Sparc Holdings, with the new company based in Nevada and its listing moved from Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange, according to Pershing.
As part of the proposal, Pershing Square said the new company would appoint a fresh board of directors, which would include former Disney chief Michael Ovitz.
The record label, which has artists such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish on its books, said Wednesday that the board and its advisors will review the proposal and analyze its implications for shareholders, employees, artists, songwriters and other stakeholders.
"The board of directors has complete confidence in UMG's strategy and the leadership of Sir Lucian Grainge and the company's management team," Universal said in a statement.
It said it won't comment further on the proposal until the board completes its review.
Shares in the music group rose 11% Tuesday.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 08, 2026 01:48 ET (05:48 GMT)
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