PARIS (Reuters) – Vivendi said on Saturday that it plans to distribute 60% of Universal Music’s capital to investors, subject to shareholder approval, and intends to list its most valuable asset, home to singers like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, by the end of the year.
The plan to list Universal represents part of a process launched by Vivendi’s French billionaire, Vincent Bollore, to profit from the renaissance of the music industry.
“Vivendi’s main institutional shareholders have been lobbying for several years for a Universal Music Group (UMG) division or distribution to reduce the Vivendi conglomerate discount,” said Vivendi in a statement.
The French conglomerate said the distribution would take the form of a special dividend.
UMG, a holding company currently incorporated in the Netherlands, will apply for a listing on Euronext in Amsterdam.
The transaction received a favorable response from the consortium led by China’s technology group Tencent, which now controls 20% of UMG, having bought a stake in two successive waves that valued UMG at 30 billion euros ($ 36.35 billion) , said to Vivendi.
Vivendi said it will hold an extraordinary general meeting on March 29 to modify the company’s bylaws and make distribution possible.
In addition, Vivendi will propose the distribution of a dividend of 0.60 euros per share for fiscal year 2020 at a shareholders’ meeting scheduled for June 22.
($ 1 = 0.8252 euros)
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon. Jane Merriman edition