PARIS (Reuters) -Vivendi said on Tuesday it could sell a further 10% of shares in its Universal Music Group (UMG) arm, the label behind artists such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, which the French media conglomerate is planning to list in Amsterdam.
The group, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, in an update to markets also pledged that no “poison pill”, or mechanism to prevent future potential hostile takeover attempts on Universal, would be put in place.
“Prior to the distribution of 60% of the UMG shares to Vivendi shareholders, the group is analysing the opportunity of selling 10% of UMG shares to an American investor or initiating a public offering of at least 5% and up to 10% of UMG shares,” Vivendi said in a statement.
The company will also propose that Universal’s board be composed by a majority of independent directors and that shareholders be free to designate directors in accordance with majority conditions under Dutch law.
Neither Vivendi nor the family-run Group Bollore conglomerate that controls it, intend to be represented on Universal’s board, it said.
Vivendi last week announced details of the listing of Universal which will see it distribute 60% of Universal’s capital to its current shareholders in a deal valuing the division at 33 billion euros ($40 billion).
($1 = 0.8220 euros)
Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Christopher Cushing and Jason Neely
