What Song Will UMG Play Next in Ackman Pursuit: We Can’t Be Friends or Everything I Wanted?

Apr 10, 2026

It is Deja Vu at Universal Music Group as it appears Bill Ackman’s pursuit of the world’s largest record label has come full circle. After a years-long saga in which he built a stake in 2021, joined and quit the board, he is officially back with a Better Now proposal. When you can’t get no Satisfaction from the boardroom, maybe it’s time to buy a sizeable stake in the company.

Ackman and Pershing Square’s proposal is playing all the hits from the activist playbook: redomicile from the Netherlands to Nevada, shift the listing from Amsterdam’s Euronext to the New York Stock Exchange, sell Universal’s Spotify stake, take on new debt, and install a fresh board including Michael Ovitz. It appears these are essentially the structural changes Ackman pressed for during his time as a director, now in a new package that includes Ackman’s SPARC investment vehicle that houses the remaining funds from the traditional SPAC that didn’t find a company to merge with. As was sung in Mamma Mia (or by Abba), “I have a Dream.”

The deal hinges on approval from two-thirds of voting shareholders, which makes the kingmaker in this situation the Bolloré Group’s Vincent Bolloré, who owns a roughly 28% stake (including Vivendi’s holdings). Ackman told the Financial Times that the group responded that his proposal was “music to our ears,” but cautioned that “without Bolloré we don’t have a transaction.” As the Rolling Stones once said, You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

Universal’s board, meanwhile, confirmed receipt of the “unsolicited proposal” and expressed complete confidence in CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and the current strategy. Peter Gabriel sung it well: “I have the touch.”

What happens next depends largely on Bolloré. But after a stint on the board, a quiet exit, and now a new proposal, Ackman is clearly not done with Universal – and he’s making his return the way only Adele could put it: Hello (from the other side).

Have a great weekend,

GPP team

ACTIVISM

Kirkland’s Shaun Mathew: Activist Investors Changing Their Approach
Kirkland & Ellis partner Shaun Mathew joins Bloomberg to discuss new demands from activists as 2026’s proxy season takes shape, describing an “over rotation from engagement to capitulation” from issuers during contested situations over the last few years. Watch Here

Reuters: Swatch Urges Shareholders to Vote Against Activist Investor’s Bid for Board Seat
The owner of luxury brands like Omega and Blancpain has rejected GreenWood’s bid for a board seat for the second time, stating that the firm’s candidate and founder, Steven Wood, was not a suitable representative of shareholder interests. Read More

The Deal: Americold Europe in Focus as Second Activist Joins Fray
The REIT, which focuses on cold-storage warehouses and facilities, now faces pressure from Sieve Capital after settling with Ancora in December. Sieve is calling for a full strategic review and consideration of the sale of the company’s European asset base. Read More

M&A

The Wall Street Journal: Why McCormick’s $65 Billion Deal Might Actually Work Out
David Wainer breaks down how McCormick / Unilever may differentiate itself from former failed mega-mergers in the food and beverage industry through a tax strategy where McCormick owns 65% of the spun-out segment from the London personal care behemoth. Read More

CNBC: 2026 will be a Great Year for AI and Private Equity Firms, says Paul, Weiss’ Robert Kindler
Paul Weiss global chair of M&A Rob Kindler strikes a bullish tone on larger deal price tags and sponsor-to-sponsor transactions over the remainder of 2026, stating that complications from the current administration can be worked around given a more “commercial” posture from D.C. Watch Here

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Financial Times: SEC Chair Says US States Should Lead on Policing Corporate Behavior
Marking a significant retreat from federal oversight, SEC chair Paul Atkins told a Miami conference that the agency must resist becoming a “merit regulator” and instead defer to states as the proper arbiters of board conduct and fiduciary duties. Read More

Financial Times: BP Chair Faces Re-Election Battle After Board Blocks Climate Resolution
Just weeks into a new CEO being on the job, BP chair Albert Manifold faces a contested re-election at this month’s annual meeting after Glass Lewis and Legal & General recommended voting against him over the board’s exclusion of a Follow This climate resolution. Read More

Harvard Law School Forum: Top 5 Corporate Governance Priorities for 2026
In a new Harvard Law School Forum post, The Conference Board’s Matteo Tonello argues that CEO succession, board refreshment, geopolitical volatility, AI governance, and shareholder activism will be the defining boardroom challenges of 2026. Read More

IPO

Fortune: SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic Could Reopen the IPO Market—or Drain it
Despite the upcoming trio of highly anticipated public offerings and Q1 2026 being the biggest quarter for venture on record, Wall Street is apprehensive of what this could mean for investor capital left for the broader market. Read More

Financial Times Alphaville: Pimco to DC: Please Stop Talking About a Fannie-Freddie IPO
The investment management firm suggests Washington should focus on affordable housing by having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase more mortgage-backed securities and that the Fed “should remain independent.” Read More

Reuters: Drone Maker AEVEX Eyes $2.35 billion Valuation in US IPO
AEVEX is the latest defense firm to capitalize on recent investor appetite as governments commit to higher military spending and move toward drone systems. Read More

FROM OUR DESK TO YOURS

This week, GPPers caught Giant, a new play about the children’s book author Roald Dahl. Written by Mark Rosenblatt in his Broadway debut, Giant is set in one afternoon in the summer of 1983 in Dahl’s country house, opening with Dahl, portrayed by the towering John Lithgow, putting his finishing edits on The Witches.

What follows is a shocking discussion between Dahl and a publishing executive, who is Jewish, as she grapples with Dahl’s antisemitism, prompted by his refusal to apologize for an anti-Jewish screed in the form of a book review about Israel’s war in Lebanon in the early 1980s. Through gritted teeth and breaking voices, we witness heated confrontations with moments of potential compromise that vanish almost as quickly as they appear.

The weight of the conversations was palpable in the audience. Rosenblatt threaded humor throughout tense moments, giving us a chance to breathe before pulling us right back under. By the play’s end, Dahl’s vile antisemitism was on full display, as was Lithgow’s brilliance (listen here for an interview with Lithgow with the New Yorker’s David Remnick about how the actor tackled the part).

After debuting at the Royal Court and claiming three Olivier Awards including Best New Play and Best Actor in a Play for Lithgow, Giant is playing a limited 16-week run at the Music Box Theatre through late June, and we recommend you catch it while you can.

Giant was born out of Rosenblatt’s identity as a British Jew and his growing alarm over present-day antisemitism. On that topic, see historian Simon Schama’s piece this week writing that there are now parts of London that are simply “no go” zones for Jews.