UK-Based Investor Independent Franchise Partners Takes 3% Stake in Universal Music Group Worth $1.2bn+
•February 16, 2026
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Companies Mentioned
Why It Matters
The sizable IFP stake could reshape UMG’s governance and pressure the board to address valuation discounts and strategic uncertainties, influencing the broader music‑rights market.
Key Takeaways
- •IFP now holds 3.01% of UMG, €1.09bn stake.
- •Stake makes IFP UMG's sixth‑largest shareholder.
- •IFP also owns sizable positions in Vivendi, Rightmove, Warner Music.
- •UMG shares down ~30% YTD despite revenue growth.
- •Valuation at 18× earnings, lowest ever, may attract activist push.
Pulse Analysis
Independent Franchise Partners' recent purchase of a 3.01% stake in Universal Music Group underscores a growing appetite for high‑quality intangible assets in the entertainment sector. IFP, known for targeting companies with durable competitive advantages, joins a roster of investors—including Pershing Square and the Bolloré family—who have already shaped UMG's shareholder landscape. By consolidating positions across Vivendi, Rightmove, and Warner Music, IFP signals confidence in the long‑term cash‑flow potential of music‑rights portfolios, even as the industry grapples with regulatory scrutiny and evolving royalty structures.
The timing of IFP's investment is critical. UMG's shares have slipped roughly 30% over the past year, despite a 10.2% year‑on‑year revenue increase to €3.02 billion and a healthy 22% EBITDA margin. This discount, reflected in an 18× earnings multiple—the lowest in the company's history—creates a fertile ground for activist engagement. IFP’s presence may intensify calls for strategic actions such as accelerating the pending U.S. secondary listing, unlocking value from the Bolloré‑Vivendi dispute, or revisiting capital allocation to boost shareholder returns. Pershing Square’s recent bullish outlook, highlighting "Streaming 2.0" and AI‑driven efficiencies, further amplifies the narrative that UMG's intrinsic value remains underappreciated.
From a market perspective, UMG sits at the intersection of traditional music royalties and emerging digital opportunities. Streaming revenue continues to expand, while AI tools promise lower production costs and new monetization pathways. However, uncertainty around the Bolloré legal battle and the timing of a U.S. listing adds volatility. Investors will watch closely how IFP leverages its stake—whether through board representation, strategic advocacy, or partnership facilitation—to steer UMG toward a higher valuation trajectory. The outcome could set a precedent for activist involvement in the broader media‑rights ecosystem, influencing how similar assets are priced and governed.
UK-based investor Independent Franchise Partners takes 3% stake in Universal Music Group worth $1.2bn+
Independent Franchise Partners builds a 3.01% stake in Universal Music Group
A so‑called ‘activist’ investor based in London called Independent Franchise Partners (IFP) has built a 3.01 % stake in Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s largest music company, according to a filing published by the Dutch financial markets regulator, the AFM.
The filing shows that IFP held 55,155,646 ordinary shares in UMG as of last Monday (February 9), carrying equivalent capital interest and voting rights of 3.01 %. Based on UMG’s closing share price of €19.73 on that date, the stake was worth approximately €1.09 billion (USD $1.29 bn).
As reported by Reuters, the holding makes IFP the sixth‑largest shareholder in Universal Music Group, according to LSEG data.
Founded in 2009, Reuters noted that IFP describes its investment focus as targeting exceptionally high‑quality companies whose competitive advantage is supported by dominant intangible assets. The firm has not publicly commented on its intentions regarding UMG.
IFP also holds a 5.37 % stake in Vivendi and a 5.86 % stake in British property platform Rightmove. It appears to be a significant shareholder in Warner Music Group, holding a 9.1 % stake in the company’s Class A common stock as of March 2025, according to SEC filings, suggesting a broader bet on the music‑rights sector.
The Vivendi position is notable: Vivendi’s controlling shareholder, the Bolloré family, held an 18.5 % stake in UMG and a 29.3 % stake in Vivendi at the close of 2024, according to the Bolloré Group’s website. Vivendi, in turn, had a capital interest of 14.59 % in UMG as of December 2024, though a portion of that was subject to a forward sale and equity swap, reducing Vivendi’s net economic exposure to approximately 10 %. The relationship between those entities is currently the subject of a high‑profile legal battle in France.
IFP’s arrival on UMG’s shareholder register comes during a period of upheaval among the company’s major investors.
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In March last year, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square raised approximately $1.4 bn from the sale of around 50 million UMG shares — a 2.7 % stake — at €26.60 per share, reducing its holding to approximately 4.8 %. That sale followed Pershing’s distribution of a further 47 million shares (2.6 % of UMG) to its PSVII fund investors in January 2025. Ackman subsequently resigned from UMG’s board in May.
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In July, Cyrille Bolloré — son of French media mogul Vincent Bolloré, and Chairman and CEO of the Bolloré Group — stepped down from UMG’s board to focus on the Bolloré Group’s fight with France’s AMF, which had ordered the group to make a mandatory tender offer for Vivendi shares it does not own. However, in late November, France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, overturned the Paris Court of Appeal ruling that had found Vincent Bolloré to be in de facto control of Vivendi — referring the question of control back to a freshly composed panel of the Court of Appeal. The AMF has said it cannot rule again on the mandatory tender offer until the new Court of Appeal decision is handed down.
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UMG also filed a confidential draft registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in July for a proposed secondary listing on a US stock exchange, but the timing of that listing remains uncertain.
While the Tencent‑led consortium’s approximately 20 % stake has remained steady through this period, UMG’s share price has declined approximately 10 % year‑to‑date in 2026, and is down around 30 % over the past 12 months.
That decline has come despite continued growth in UMG’s underlying business. The company’s most recent quarterly results showed Q3 2025 revenues of €3.02 billion, up 10.2 % YoY at constant currency, with adjusted EBITDA of €664 million — a margin of 22 %. UMG is due to report its Q4 and full‑year 2025 results on March 5.
In an investor presentation published on February 11 — two days after IFP’s filing date — Pershing Square made a bullish case for UMG, describing the company as “a high‑quality, capital‑light, rapidly growing royalty on greater music consumption”. Pershing argued that UMG’s growth is set to accelerate, driven by ‘Streaming 2.0’ deals incorporating wholesale price increases that should lead to higher subscription revenue growth, and new partners and product tiers that should allow for better customer segmentation.
On AI, Pershing said UMG is beginning to monetize the technology by partnering with new digital service providers creating tools for music discovery and creation, and argued that AI will lower the costs of creating music and allow UMG to operate more efficiently.
Despite that optimism, Pershing noted that UMG trades at its lowest‑ever valuation — 18× earnings, or 17× excluding its ownership stake in Spotify — citing the overhang created by uncertainty around the Bolloré situation and UMG’s delayed US listing as key factors depressing the share price.
“Given its market position and decades‑long runway for sustained earnings growth, we believe UMG’s current valuation represents a very substantial discount to its intrinsic value,” Pershing concluded.
MBW reached out to Universal Music Group for comment.
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