It had been reported that Vivendi was keen to finalise its deal to sell 10% of Universal Music Group to a Tencent-led consortium by the end of 2019. It just about squeaked in, with the agreement signed on New Year’s Eve. Tencent has indeed been joined by “certain global financial investors” (as well as separate entity Tencent Music Entertainment) in the deal, which values UMG at €30bn ($33.62bn). As previously announced, the consortium also has the option to acquire another 10% stake, on the same terms, until 15 January 2021. Vivendi also announced that Tencent Music will be acquiring a minority stake in UMG’s Greater China subsidiary. Vivendi will be submitting the transaction to regulators – indie body Impala has already promised to fight it – and hopes to complete it by the end of June. And more news: Vivendi has revealed that “negotiations were beginning concerning the potential sale of an additional minority share for a price which would at least be identical”. The identity of this potential second investor has not yet been made public.
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