Universal Music Group will sell half of its equity stake in Spotify and use the proceeds to help fund an expanded share buyback program totaling EUR €1 billion (USD $1.17 billion), the company confirmed on Wednesday (April 29) alongside its Q1 2026 results. The decision comes three weeks after Bill Ackman‘s Pershing Square launched a $64 billion takeover bid for UMG that proposed liquidating the company’s entire Spotify stake to help fund the deal.
Source: Universal is selling 50% of its Spotify stake, generating around $1.4 billion