JPM expects Bollore to reject Pershing's UMG bid to pursue its 'masterplan'

Compagnie De lodet SE

10/04/2026 07:02

** J.P. Morgan expects the Bollore family's holding vehicle to reject billionaire investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square's PSHP.L $64 billion bid to take Universal Music Group UMG.AS private

** JPM says UMG will struggle to recommend Pershing's proposal because it undervalues the music label

** Bollore BOLL.PA has no interest in selling as it does not need cash and the next steps in its "masterplan" include increasing its exposure to UMG by buying out minorities held by Vivendi VIV.PA and Odet ODET.PA, the brokerage adds

** "It is unlikely to sell at a discount to fair value; it would not want to reduce its influence and it has historically favoured a European listing and domicile for UMG," JPM says in the note

** JPM sees some probability that Bollore will respond to Ackman's bid with its own plan to take UMG private with the support of UMG management, China's Tencent 0700.HK and other investors

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro)

((gianluca.lonostro@thomsonreuters.com))