Universal, the world’s biggest record label, heads for an IPO

Started by T. D., June 23, 2021, 03:42:05 PM

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T. D.

June 23, 2021, 03:42:05 PM
This story may be paywalled, but there must be others. Sorry if there was an existing thread; didn't have time to search.

https://www.economist.com/business/2021/06/23/universal-the-worlds-biggest-record-label-heads-for-an-ipo

...
Shareholders in Vivendi, the record label's parent company, tuned in to the annual general meeting to chorus their near-unanimous approval of a plan to spin off Universal as an independent company. The label will launch as a solo act on the Amsterdam stock exchange in September.

The vote marked the end of a noisy battle for control of Universal, which accounts for 30% or so of global recorded-music sales. In January Tencent, a Chinese media and e-commerce giant, increased its stake in the label to 20%. Earlier this month it emerged that Daniel Loeb, a New York hedge-fund billionaire, had built up a stake in Vivendi. Then on June 20th Bill Ackman, a rival hedgie, announced that his special-purpose acquisition company was to buy 10% of Universal for €3.5bn ($4.2bn), the biggest SPAC deal so far (and a particularly complex one). Vivendi will itself hang on to 10% of the label; the remaining 60% of shares will be distributed among Vivendi's existing shareholders.
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#1
June 23, 2021, 05:17:19 PM
Just when you thought it couldn't get any complicated, this happens. ::)

T. D.

#2
June 23, 2021, 05:46:35 PM Last Edit: June 23, 2021, 05:56:43 PM by T. D.
Yeah, my eyes glazed over.
One bizarre thing to me is that the referenced deal (and several monstrous sales of famous rock* performers' back catalogues) values back catalogues highly, but recording revenues for all but the superstars seem to have dried up.

From a rock*-oriented local article I read today (https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2021/06/23/laura-stevenson-to-perform-a-free-outdoor-waterfront-solo-show-in-saugerties/):

...When I was growing up, you were far more likely to see a rock star passed out in a Woodstock club than performing in one.

That has changed. The death of recording revenues (due, ultimately, to a listening public that now expects to get it all for free) has obliged players at all levels to realize all revenues, including the local tuppence. This has led to the great if ambiguous enrichment of our own music scene and all the wonderful cross pollination between locals and transplants....

*Let's face it, rock/pop is what these deals are about. No hedge funds are paying up to monetize classical back catalogues!  :(

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