Episode summary
Ackman Pitches $65 Billion UMG Deal to Move Listing to US | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · 26 min · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Emily Graffeo, Alexis Christoforous · Guests: Matthew Bloxham, Mandeep Singh, Sam Fazeli, Lloyd Arnold
Summary
Bill Ackman’s proposed Universal Music Group transaction is framed as a valuation and capital-allocation story more than a full cash takeover. The guest said shareholders have been frustrated by UMG’s share-price performance despite decent operating numbers, and that the pitch centers on using leverage, buybacks, and the Spotify stake to surface value. He also said the bid’s headline premium is mostly “paper,” because it relies on applying a higher U.S.-style multiple and moving the listing from Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange.
The discussion then shifted to AI infrastructure, where the guest said Anthropic has become the momentum leader in enterprise coding agents and is driving new compute demand through a broadening pact with Broadcom and Google. He argued that Anthropic’s rapid revenue ramp and sticky enterprise contracts could reshape 2027 capex plans, while OpenAI faces valuation pressure and more competition on the enterprise side.
Healthcare coverage focused on Gilead’s Tubulis deal and the weight-loss market. The guest said Gilead is leaning further into oncology and antibody-drug-conjugate assets, while Novo Nordisk’s lower-priced Wegovy move shows obesity drugs are increasingly competing on price. A final segment said the data-center buildout is still accelerating globally, with U.S. tech giants driving power demand, clean-energy buying, and more on-site gas generation.
Key takeaways
- The guest said Ackman’s UMG proposal is mainly about forcing a higher multiple and unlocking value through leverage, buybacks, and a potential NYSE listing.
- He said the bid’s quoted 78% premium is mostly a paper premium, not a large cash offer.
- The guest argued Anthropic has surpassed OpenAI in enterprise momentum and is now driving major compute deals with Broadcom and Google.
- He said Anthropic’s coding-agent strategy is creating sticky enterprise revenue and could push 2027 capex estimates higher.
- He said Gilead’s Tubulis purchase reinforces its shift toward oncology and antibody-drug-conjugate drugs.
- The data-center segment said U.S.-led AI demand is still accelerating and is pulling in both clean power and natural gas investments.
Notable quotes
“The numbers it's been posting uh performance-wise have been pretty decent. Uh but the share price keeps going going down”
“it's very much a kind of paper premium. So, if you look at the numbers, basically what they've said is that on the 2026 earnings”
“The momentum has shifted towards anthropic in a big way. And now we see this deal which really is a reflection of the momentum that Enthropic has generated”
“This is a very interesting acquisition I have to say. It's a private German company. I've met them two or three times”
How the episode opens
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Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business App. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube. I did not have Universal Music Group being put in play on my bingo card, but billionaire activist Bill Aman.
I mean, I IPOed that thing, bought it, sold it million. I don't know why it's public. Billionaire activist Bill Aman has proposed a bid for Universal Music Group to increase returns on one of his hedge funds biggest holdings.
Not really sure why, but our next guest does. Matthew Bloxom, senior media and tech analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence is usually based in London, but he's here in New York, which goes to my theory. Yes.
And we're seeing a lot of Londonbased BI people here, which means somebody's buying these people dinner. They're not coming over of their own.
I think we should swap. I'll go to London for a while and do the show from there. Okay, — Matthew, talk tell us what's going on here with United uh Music Group and and kind of what Bill Aton's thinking.
Yes, look, I I think uh a lot of shareholders have been frustrated for quite some time with the share price performance of Universal Music. The numbers it's been posting uh performance-wise have been pretty decent. Uh but the share price keeps going going down and I think I mean I've had a lot of incoming inquiries from clients over the last know three or four months trying to kind of put this puzzle together you know that the numbers look good the share price going down what's going on and I think to some degree this is um Bill Aman you know expressing some public frustration uh about that um that kind of mismatch and trying to I guess propose you know a different future for universal music but particular kind of a more financially engineered uh future.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- ackman umg deal
- broadcom ai infrastructure
- anthropic partnership
- biotech m&a and cancer drugs
- data center capex bubble fears
Companies and tickers mentioned
- AVGO
- GOOGL
- GOOG
- GILD
- NVO
- LLY
- Pershing Square Capital Management
- Universal Music Group
- Broadcom
- Anthropic
- Gilead Sciences
- Tubulis GmbH
- Novo Nordisk
- Eli Lilly & Co.
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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