Shares of Universal Music Group UMG rose more than 35% on the Euronext Amsterdam, in Europe's largest listing of the year so far, and this is its first appearance on the market.
According to Arab Net, the shares of the company behind the fictional sales of albums by artists such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift are trading at about 25 euros ($29) per share, Compared to the reference price of 18.5 euros per share.
60 percent of UMG shares will go to shareholders in French media group Vivendi, which last June acquired that stake in the largest music company. in the world alongside Warner Bros. and Sony Music, with shareholder Vincent Bollor taking a stake worth around 5.9 billion euros.
When French billionaire Vincent Polloret took over the holding group, he acquired this Santa Monica music company, on the outskirts of Los Angeles (California), that has weathered the crisis. "MP3" and piracy of songs, as are the other giants of the sector "Sony" and "Warner".
Universal Music, also known as UMG, owns the famous Abbey Road Studios where major artists such as The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, EMI Records (Justin Bieber, Keith Richards and Metallica) have recorded their work. "Capitol Records" (Katy Perry and Paul McCartney).
In 2020, it also bought the rights to the entirety of Bob Dylan's work, in a deal that is one of the largest in the music business.
With the boom of streaming and endless music offerings, UMG has become the golden egg for Vivendi. Its turnover amounted to 7.4 billion euros in 2020, equivalent to 46% of the holding group's revenues.
But for Vivendi, which includes Canal+, telecom giant Avas and Editis publishing under its banner, and it is based in Paris, it is time to let Universal find its way on its own and focus its activities on publishing, advertising and media.
Perhaps the parent group considers the value of “UMG” to be close to its highest levels, with its valuation in the stock market at more than 30 billion euros, after selling 20% of the stakes in it to a consortium managed by the Chinese “Tencent” and giving 10% to the financial expert Bill Ackman. (agencies)
