The Universal Music Group announced on Monday (March 30) that it will be implementing a share buyback program to repurchase the company’s own stock for an aggregate amount of 500 million euros ($574 million), which will be executed by an independent broker.
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“Since our transition to a public company, we have consistently delivered sustained growth, strong financial results and strategic leadership, establishing a robust foundation for long-term value creation,” UMG CFO Matt Ellis said in a statement. “We currently see a meaningful dislocation in UMG’s market valuation. Our strong balance sheet and cash generation gives us the flexibility to repurchase shares, while preserving ample capacity to invest in our growth strategy, and reconfirming our commitment to maintaining our credit ratings and our divided policy.”
The buyback program will be executed within the existing authorization of the Board of Directors to repurchase the company’s own shares at the UMG Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on May 14. UMG is publicly traded on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam.
The company announced it intends to repurchase shares to meet its obligations under the 2022 Music Group Global Equity Plan, with the maximum number of shares used for purposes of the equity plan remaining unchanged.
Earlier this month, UMG reported that its 2025 revenue and earnings (before interest, tax, depreciation and appreciation) grew by 9%. Virgin Music (under UMG) also announced the completion of its acquisition of Downtown Music in February in a deal worth $775 million following a European body review. The board also shared they were shelving plans for a dual U.S. stock market listing.
In March 2025, hedge fund Pershing Square Holdings announced it was selling 50 million shares of its UMG holdings, valued up to $1.5 billion.
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