Billionaire Invoice Ackman exits Common Music Board 

Billionaire investor Invoice Ackman is stepping down from the board of Common Music Group N.V., the world’s largest music firm, as he shifts focus to rising tasks at Pershing Sq. and a brand new management function at Howard Hughes Holdings.

Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Sq. Capital Administration and Chairman of Pershing Sq. Holdings, formally resigned from UMG’s board following its annual basic assembly on Tuesday, ending a three-year tenure that started shortly after the music big’s public debut in 2021.

“During the last three years, I’ve enormously loved being a director of UMG because it has transitioned from a non-public firm right into a flourishing public enterprise, the corporate is extraordinarily properly positioned for future development and profitability below the very good management of Sir Lucian Grainge and the complete UMG group.”, Ackman stated in a press release.

Ackman’s exit comes as he assumes new tasks as Government Chairman of Howard Hughes Holdings, a publicly traded actual property growth agency, alongside his ongoing oversight of Pershing Sq.’s funding portfolio.

Some context 

Common Music, residence to artists resembling Taylor Swift, Drake, Billie Eilish, and Nigeria’s rising afrobeats stars like Rema and Ayra Starr, has more and more attracted investor curiosity. Nonetheless, its share worth has remained stagnant since its spinoff from Vivendi in 2021, regardless of the corporate’s expansive artist roster and international streaming attain.

In a put up on X (previously Twitter) beforehand, Ackman reiterated his perception that Common Music is undervalued, citing its itemizing on the Euronext Amsterdam change as a key purpose. He famous that the corporate’s restricted liquidity and exclusion from main U.S. indexes, such because the S&P 500, have prevented it from reaching its full market potential.

“Common trades at a big low cost to its intrinsic worth, in important half because of it not having its major itemizing within the U.S.”, Ackman wrote.

His remarks adopted reviews that UMG was contemplating relocating its major inventory change itemizing from the Netherlands to the USA. The transfer is alleged to be accelerated by current antisemitic incidents in Amsterdam and will provide the $46 billion firm higher visibility and entry to institutional capital.

What to know 

Ackman, who acquired a ten.25% stake in UMG throughout its spinoff, turned the corporate’s largest particular person shareholder.

His agency, Pershing Sq. Holdings, had lengthy championed Common Music as a high-value, capital-light enterprise poised to profit from the worldwide development in music consumption.

“UMG’s enterprise will be greatest considered a quickly rising royalty on the higher international consumption and monetization of music,” Pershing Sq.’s 2021 investor report learn.

Ackman argued then that music offered “the lowest-cost, highest-value” type of leisure, with important room for pricing development and worldwide enlargement.