Universal Music Group (UMG), a branch of Vivendi (in turn a shareholder of 23.75% of Telecom Italia) makes its debut on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The shares jump at the start of trading: they were traded at 25.50 euros, up by about 37.8% compared to the reference price of 18.50 euros. Umg’s stock debut will be the largest for European stock exchanges this year and will distribute 60% of the shares to shareholders of the French media group Vivendi.
France’s Vivendi set the reference price for Umg’s listing at € 18.5 per share, suggesting a market capitalization of € 33.4 billion ($ 39.2 billion) for the record label.
The group owns famous Abbey Road studios – which have hosted the Beatles and Lady Gaga, as well as Kanye West and Amy Winehouse – EMI Records (Justin Bieber, Keith Richards, Metallica) and Capitol Records (Katy Perry, Paul McCartney). It also acquired the rights to Bob Dylan’s entire catalog of songs in 2020, one of the most important operations in the history of music.