Universal Music Group has put its plans for a secondary listing on a US stock exchange on hold, citing turbulent market conditions.
The world’s largest music company confirmed the decision as part of its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings announcement, published today (March 5).
“With the uncertainty in the market creating a meaningful dislocation in UMG’s valuation, the Company’s Board of Directors has decided that it is not the right time to move ahead with a US listing,” UMG said in a statement. “Should that change, the Company will provide an update.”
The news comes just months after its most prominent backer publicly made the case for one.
In March 2025, Bill Ackman — founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, which first acquired roughly 10% of UMG in 2021 — used his firm’s annual report letter to argue that a US listing would unlock demand from institutional investors unable to purchase non-US listed companies, improve analyst coverage, and potentially secure inclusion in major US indices.
In July, UMG appeared to take a significant step forward, confidentially submitting a draft Form F-1 registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of the company’s ordinary shares — a move that came at Pershing Square’s request.
As part of the process, Pershing committed to selling at least $500 million worth of its UMG holdings.
In January 2025, the firm distributed 47 million shares — a 2.6% stake — to co-investors, before offloading a further 2.7% stake in March for proceeds of around $1.4 billion.
Ackman subsequently resigned from UMG’s board in May, citing “new executive and board obligations arising from his recent investments.”
UMG’s full-year 2025 results reveal that US listing preparation costs and certain M&A advisory costs totalled €45 million across the year, including €17 million in Q4 alone.
UMG has traded on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange — under the ticker UMG — since September 2021, following its spin-off from French media conglomerate Vivendi. Any US listing would have been secondary to that existing presence.
The decision to stand down comes despite UMG reporting strong results today. The group generated revenues of €3.605 billion ($4.19bn) in Q4 2025, up 10.6% year-over-year at constant currency, while full-year revenues reached €12.507 billion — up 8.7% at constant currency.
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