Universal Music Group Shares Will Be Dual-Listed on U.S. Exchange in 2025

Pershing Square Holdings chief Bill Ackman won’t get his wish of a Universal Music Group (UMG) de-listing from the Euronext Amsterdam exchange, but the hedge fund king’s push for a UMG listing on a U.S. exchange will nevertheless come to fruition in 2025.

UMG announced Wednesday (Jan. 15) that Pershing Square and some of its affiliates have requested an offering and listing on a U.S. stock exchange and waived the 120-day filing requirement. UMG, “in line with its contractual obligations,” will use “commercially reasonable efforts to launch an underwritten offering for the sale of certain shares owned by Pershing by September 15, 2025,” according to the company’s statement. Pershing Square holds a 7.6% stake in UMG currently valued at $3.48 billion.

“Any actions or decisions of UMG beyond those necessary to comply with its contractual obligations under the Registration Rights Agreement will be determined by the Board of Directors of UMG based on an analysis taking into account what is value maximizing and in the best interests of all the shareholders of UMG,” the statement continues.

Following violent attacks against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam in November 2024, Ackman, who is also a UMG board member, called on UMG to de-list from the Euronext Amsterdam exchange, where it has traded since it broke from Vivendi in 2021, and move its legal headquarters from the Netherlands to the United States. Pershing Square quickly sought approval to delist its own stock from the Euronext Amsterdam exchange, with its request granted on Jan. 2; it will officially de-list on Jan. 31. Pershing Square stock will continue to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

“Leaving a jurisdiction that fails to protect its tourists and minority populations combine both good business and moral principles,” Ackman wrote on X at the time. Pershing Square, he continued, would exercise its “contractual right to cause UMG to be listed in the US… and achieve a US listing for UMG no later than some time next year.”

In response, UMG explained that Pershing Square could use its UMG holdings for a U.S. listing but couldn’t dictate additional terms. “As disclosed in UMG’s listing prospectus, Pershing has the right to request a listing in the U.S. subject to a Pershing entity selling at least $500 million in UMG shares as part of the listing. Pershing does not have any right to require UMG to become a U.S. domiciled company or delist from Euronext Amsterdam.”

A dual listing is not unusual for a publicly traded company. Listing in multiple countries provides a company with access to more investors and hedges against unfavorable rule changes in any one country. Among music companies, Tencent Music Entertainment trades in both the U.S. and Hong Kong.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article mistaken put Pershing Square’s stake in UMG at 10.25%. After a distribution of UMG shares to Pershing Square’s limited partners, announced on January 2, its UMG stake stands at 7.6%.