Industry

Bill Ackman to Sell Universal Music Stock After Failed Acquisition

Bill Ackman is selling his remaining Universal Music stock, concluding a turbulent five-year association with the world's largest music company following an unsuccessful acquisition attempt.

Hollywood Reporter Music·Jun 3, 2026·via Hollywood Reporter Music

Bill Ackman to Sell Universal Music Stock After Failed Acquisition

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Bill Ackman is looking to sell the remainder of his stock in Universal Music Group after the company officially rejected his acquisition bid last week.

Bloomberg first reported on the move, citing Bank of America Corp. Ackman and his firm Pershing Square will reportedly sell about 80.6 million shares in an overnight placing, and that the shares would be sold for as much as 18.62 euros each.

A representative for Pershing Square didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

The sale will end a tumultuous five-year relationship between Ackman and the world’s largest music company that started in 2021 when Ackman’s Pershing Square had bought a 7.1 percent stake in the company for about $2.8 billion. Before that purchase, he’d previously tried acquiring a UMG stake through a SPAC . Ackman joined UMG’s board of directors after the stock acquisition, and he exited the board last May.

Ackman and Pershing Square first floated a proposal to acquire UMG in April in a $64 billion deal, arguing that UMG’s stock had “languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business.” He sought to move UMG’s stock listing out of Euronext and onto the New York Stock Exchange.

UMG quickly issued a statement backing its leaders including CEO Lucian Grainge, and Cyrille Bolloré CEO of major UMG shareholder Bolloré made public comments last week encouraging the company to reject Ackman’s bid. The board officially rejected the offer two days later, saying that the deal “fundamentally and materially undervalues UMG and will not deliver superior value creation.”