Ackman’s Pershing Square in talks to buy 10 percent of Universal Music for $4B

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman confirmed Friday that his blank-check company Pershing Square Tontine Holdings is in talks to buy a 10-percent stake of Universal Music Group for about $4 billion.

The transaction would value the Vivendi-owned Universal Music, which is the home to singers like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Kanye West, at around $42.4 billion, making it the largest target ever for a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The deal is a structured stock purchase, according to Ackman, and would not result in a merger. As a result, Universal would continue as planned to list on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange in the third quarter of 2021.