Universal Music discussed going private, Bloomberg says

Universal Music Group ↗ 0.37%, the world's largest record company, held early talks this year with several large private equity firms about taking the company private, Bloomberg reported on Monday, October 26, citing people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg said management spoke with Apollo Global Management ↗ 1.36%, TPG ↗ 0.40% and Blackstone ↗ 0.92%. The talks have not moved forward, Universal has not started a sale process, and the company's board knows about the conversations.1049thewolf.com

The report shows that a company home to Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar is weighing its options months after it turned down a takeover bid from Bill Ackman, while its shares have lost value this year.

Early Talks, No Deal

The buyout firms and Universal declined to comment to Bloomberg, according to Seeking Alpha's summary on TradingView. Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↘ 0.89% said it could not immediately verify the report. Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw wrote that no deal is currently being worked on, but that UMG's leadership and many financial firms think the company is undervalued, according to Mediagazer. Bloomberg reported that the stock has fallen about 29% this year.investing.com+2

The Ackman Rejection

The talks follow a public fight over the company's future. On April 7, Ackman's Pershing Square proposed a merger with its acquisition vehicle, Pershing Square SPARC Holdings. Under the plan, the combined company would have become a Nevada corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. ↘ 1.65%, and shareholders would have received €5.05 per share in cash plus 0.77 shares of the new company. Music Business Worldwide reported that the offer valued UMG at about $64 billion. Universal's board rejected it in June, saying it "fundamentally and materially undervalues" the company.musicbusinessworldwide.com+1

Pershing Square then sold its entire stake. Universal said on June 4 that it had bought back 14,156,285 of its own shares from Pershing funds at €17.66 each, about €250 million in total. Universal Music shares fell after the sale, which ended a five-year investment that began when Pershing bought about 10% of the company from Vivendi in 2021.universalmusic.com+1

Questions About Value

Ackman had argued that UMG's share price had "languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business," Music Business Worldwide reported. The outlet also noted that UMG paused plans for a US stock market listing in March 2026. Universal, which trades on Euronext Amsterdam, now faces the same issue that led to Ackman's bid. Its management thinks public markets undervalue the company, but its talks with private buyers have not yet turned into a deal.musicbusinessworldwide.com