Vivendi plans to distribute 60% of UMG capital to shareholders, list it by year-end
PARIS (Reuters) - Vivendi said on Saturday it planned to distribute 60% of Universal Music’s capital to investors, subject to shareholder approval, and aimed to list its most-prized asset, home to singers such as 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 top shareholder French billionaire Vincent Bollore to cash in on the music industry’s revival.“Vivendi’s leading institutional shareholders have been pressing for a number of years for a split or the distribution of Universal Music Group (UMG) to reduce Vivendi’s conglomerate discount,” Vivendi said in a statement.
In addition, Vivendi will propose to distribute a 0.60 euros per share dividend for its 2020 fiscal year at a shareholders meeting scheduled for June 22.
