Latest news with #UniversalMusic
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Universal Music Group Files Confidentially for US Listing
(Bloomberg) -- Universal Music Group NV has filed confidentially for a US listing, which would fulfill the terms of a deal with billionaire Bill Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square. Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital The Amsterdam-listed firm submitted documents to the US Securities & Exchange Commission relating to a proposed offering by certain of its shareholders, according to a statement Monday. The world's largest music company won't receive any proceeds from the sale. Universal Music's shares rose 0.9% to €27.31 apiece at 9:51 a.m. in European trading on Tuesday, leading gains in Amsterdam's AEX Index. The filing comes after Universal said in January it would plan the US listing in order to satisfy an agreement with Pershing Square, a statement at the time showed. Ackman resigned from Universal's board in May, citing increasing demands on his time from commitments including his appointment as Executive Chairman of Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. Universal Music, which is the label for artists including Taylor Swift, had in recent months resisted Ackman's push to move its domicile and delist it from Euronext Amsterdam. Pershing Square had urged Universal Music to pursue a US listing, saying it would substantially increase the valuation of the shares. A group of shareholders affiliated with Pershing Square in March raised more than €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) from the sale of about a 2.7% stake in the Hilversum, Netherlands-headquartered firm, Bloomberg News reported. --With assistance from Sarah Jacob. (Updates with share move in third paragraph.) Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Straits Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Universal Music confidentially files for US listing
Find out what's new on ST website and app. NEW YORK - Universal Music Group, the world's biggest music label, disclosed on July 21 that it had confidentially filed for a US listing. Universal Music, whose primary listing is in the Netherlands, did not reveal the size of the US offering or how much it was planning to raise. The company was valued at about 49.65 billion euros (S$74.3 billion) based on its July 21 closing price on the Dutch exchange, according to LSEG data. The stock is up about 10 per cent this year. Billionaire Bill Ackman-led Pershing Square, one of the major stockholders in Universal Music, had previously pushed the company to list its shares in the United States. The Netherlands-based label's roster of stars includes Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Drake, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, and Harry Styles, according to its website. Companies are lining up to list their shares in the United States to take advantage of a strong rebound in the country's equity markets following a brief lull due to uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's tariff policies. Confidential filings allow companies to keep financial and strategic information private while engaging with regulators and assessing investor appetite ahead of public disclosure. REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World US President Trump 'caught off guard' by Israel's strikes in Syria World US not rushing trade deals ahead of August deadline, will talk with China, Bessent says Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections Multimedia 'It's very sad': She comforts loved ones turned away by inmates Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work Opinion With Shatec cutting back operations, what's next for the hospitality sector?
Business Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Universal Music Group files confidentially for US listing
[NEW YORK] Universal Music Group has filed confidentially for a US listing, which would fulfil the terms of a deal with billionaire Bill Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square. The Amsterdam-listed firm submitted documents to the US Securities & Exchange Commission relating to a proposed offering by certain of its shareholders, according to a statement on Monday (Jul 21). The world's largest music company will not receive any proceeds from the sale. The filing comes after Universal said in January it would plan the US listing in order to satisfy an agreement with Pershing Square, a statement at the time showed. Ackman resigned from Universal's board in May, citing increasing demands on his time from commitments including his appointment as executive chairman of Howard Hughes Holdings. Universal Music, which is the label for artists including Taylor Swift, had in recent months resisted Ackman's push to move its domicile and delist it from Euronext Amsterdam. Pershing Square had urged Universal Music to pursue a US listing, saying it would substantially increase the valuation of the shares. A group of shareholders affiliated with Pershing Square in March raised more than 1.3 billion euros (S$1.9 billion) from the sale of about a 2.7 per cent stake in the Hilversum, Netherlands-headquartered firm, Bloomberg News reported. BLOOMBERG
Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Maura Higgins shows off new £1.2 million home after 'busy few months'
Love Island star Maura Higgins gave fans a first look at the inside of her new home in Essex - but any guests thinking of popping around might want to bring a chair with them Maura Higgins welcomed her fans into her brand new home - revealing she has moved into her million pound mansion in Essex. The 34-year-old former Love Island contestant has earned an estimated £3.2 million in the years since she found fame on the ITV dating show back in 2019. And she has splashed the cash on a luxury new home - snapping up a five-bedroom property in the south east of England. The semi-detached house boasts an impressive garden and has huge, floor to ceiling windows that allow plenty of natural light to flood in. But it seems Maura will need to splash a little more money - as it appears she has little to no furniture in her grand new home. Nonetheless, the TV star shared news that she has moved into the dream home this weekend. On Sunday, the reality star took to Instagram Stories to share a couple of snaps from inside her new pad. She shared a photo from her kitchen looking out to her garden with a vase of flowers, candles, and a bottle of wine visible in the foreground. She wrote alongside the image: "After the busiest few months.... she's finally in." She added a house emoji and a padlock and key emoji - showing she is now a proud home owner. She shared a second snap showing professional hairdresser Carl Bembridge perched on the top of a kitchen surface and scrolling on his phone. Maura captioned this image, writing: "No chairs yet but he always finds something to sit on." Maura's happy home photos come just a couple of months after she almost wrecked the home of a married couple - as she was caught kissing married pop star Danny Jones at the 2025 Brit Awards. The Love Island star and the McFly guitarist sparked controversy as their flirty behaviour was captured despite the fact he has been married to model Georgia Horsley since 2014. The incident brought shame on both Maura and Danny - with fans blasting the pair for their disrespectful behaviour. Danny eventually addressed the controversy, issuing a groveling public apology online. He wrote: "Hello everyone, sorry it's taken me a while to post this but I've taken some time out to be with those closest to me. "I want to deeply apologise to my wife and family for putting them in this situation. I love them so much and we'll continue to deal with this privately. "I love you guys, thank you for your patience, understanding, and support. See you all soon, Danny." Meanwhile, a source close to Danny revealed he was "mortified" by what happened as well as the "awful situation he has put everyone in". Maura and Danny had attended the Universal Music afterparty at 180 The Strand, mingling with other top names. It was here that the pair were seen kissing one another. Danny was seen giving Maura a peck before moving in to kiss her on the lips in front of onlookers. An insider said that they "seemed to be having a great time," adding: "They looked like they had a brief drunken kiss." Sources claim that the pair later partied the night away at the swanky Nobu Hotel in Central London on March 1. During their outing, sources claimed they were knocking back wine until 4am, before leaving together at 6am. Meanwhile, Maura did not issue any apology - but reports suggested she had also been left "mortified" over being caught in the act.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Connie Francis dies, months after her 60s song Pretty Baby goes viral
Connie Francis, who was at one time the world's biggest-selling female artist, has died at the age of musician, whose hits included Stupid Cupid and Who's Sorry Now, had recently enjoyed a resurgence after her 1962 song Pretty Little Baby went viral on had recently been treated for pelvic pain caused by a fracture. Her death was first reported by the president of her record label, Ron Roberts, and confirmed to the BBC by Universal Music."It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that I inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night," Roberts wrote on Facebook. "I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news." The star's death comes just months after Pretty Little Baby became a trending song on of people, including Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, lip-synced to the easy listening ballad, while showing off their children and pets, or making displays of affection. One video, by social media influencers Brooke Monk and Sam Dezz, was watched more than 158 million singer Agnetha Fältskog also posted the song, saying that Francis had long been her favourite singer. And the actress Gracie Lawrence, who is currently playing Francis in the Broadway musical Just in Time, also shared a video of herself singing the track, while dressed in last month, Francis said she had been surprised by the sudden success of a track that had originally been a b-side."To tell you the truth, I didn't even remember the song!" she told People magazine. "I had to listen to it to remember. To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is touching the hearts of millions of people is truly awesome. It is an amazing feeling." Francis was born Concetta Rosemarie Franconero and grew up in a working-class Italian American family in Brooklyn, New by her father, she started playing the accordion at the age of three. By the time she was a teenager, she had changed her name to Connie Francis, and was making regular appearances on the US TV variety show Startime attempts to launch a singing career were not successful. She was turned down by almost every record label, only securing a contract with MGM Records because her demo song was called Freddy - which happened to be the name of the president's initial recordings failed to find an audience, and Francis accepted a place to study medicine at university. But she scored a breakout hit with her last contracted recording for MGM - a cover of the 1923 song Who's Sorry Now?, that she only recorded at her father's insistence."I had 18 bomb records," Francis told UPI in 1996. "He wanted me to record a song written in 1923. I said 'Forget about it - the kids on American Bandstand would laugh me right off the show.' "He said, 'If you don't record this song, dummy, the only way you'll get on American Bandstand is to sit on the TV'."It was almost prophetic. In 1958, Dick Clark championed the track on American Bandstand, telling viewers: "There's no doubt about it, she is headed straight for the number one spot."Francis, who was watching at home, had no idea the song was going to feature on the show. "Well, the feeling was cosmic - just cosmic!" she wrote in her diary that night. "Right there in my living-room, it became Mardi Gras-time and New Year's Eve at the turn of the century!" Pop icon turned victims' advocate Over the next couple of years, Francis became a true pop icon. She sold millions of records - including teen hits like Lipstick On Your Collar and Everybody's Somebody's Fool. In 1969, she became the first woman to top the Billboard Top 100, with the bluesy ballad Everybody's Somebody's also had an affinity for languages, and was one of the first stars to record in multiple dialects. Her title song from the 1961 movie Where the Boys Are, for example, was released in seven different languages - English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Neopolitan and 1963, she also recorded one of the first known charity singles, In The Summer Of His Years, a tribute to the assassinated US president John F popularity waned in the mid-60s, as acts like The Beatles and Bob Dylan took over the pop charts; and she briefly lost her voice as a result of nasal surgery. In 1974 Francis mounted a comeback at the Westbury Music Fair in New York, but after the performance she was beaten and raped at knife point in her motel. Traumatised, she became a recluse and spent several spells in psychiatric hospitals (she later said she had been admitted against her will by her father).At her lowest point, the star tried to kill herself with sleeping pills."I just felt that there was nothing for me to live for," she told Terry Wogan on his BBC One chat show in 1989."I had this free-floating fear of life in general after the rape, and I just said, 'Well, that's it, I'm going to check out'."Francis said it was her adopted son, Joey, who saved her life."I was looking at this bottle of sleeping pills... and my son knocked at the door of the bathrooom and he said, 'Mommy, you're the best mommy I ever had'," she told Wogan. "And that was it. I took the pills and threw them right down the toilet."The singer later won $1.5 million (£1.1 million) in a lawsuit against the Howard Johnson's motel chain for failing to provide safe locks on the glass door through which her attacker entered. Francis had just begun her return to the stage in 1981 when her younger brother George Franconero, who had testified against the mafia, was shot to death in front of his incident plunged her deeper into depression, and she spent much of the next decade receiving treatment, during which time she was diagnosed with bipolar she also became a prominent voice in crime victims' advocacy groups, including Women Against Rape, and the Victims' Assistance Legal Organisation, and became a spokesperson for Mental Health resumed her recording career in 1989, and continued to sing for sold-out audiences until she was in her this month, she told fans she had been admitted to hospital due to ongoing hip pain, but remained in good death came after a short illness, said her friend and label boss Ron Roberts, adding that more details would be released at a later back over her life and career in 2010, she said that "with the exception of my brother's murder, I would do it all over again. "Because although there were some terrible lows, there were also exhilarating highs that I would have never felt in any other profession."
