Business · Fortune Technology
Bill Ackman’s $64B Universal Music play is part of his strategy to become the next Warren Buffett
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Billionaire investor Bill Ackman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital, is planning to buy Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s largest music company, which represents artists including Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Bob Dylan, and the Beatles.
Key facts
- Today the stock is trading at 19.06 euros ($22.06), up about 2 euros ($2.32)
- The move was so disastrous that Pershing had to “disclaim” Ackman’s comments and in the following week, Ackman cut the fundraising target from $25 billion to $4 billion to $2 billion, before putting
- With the hedge fund’s latest attempt, Ackman has tempered his expectations and is aiming to raise between $5 billion and $10 billion
- When markets opened the next day, Fannie Mae’s stock market climbed as much as 41%, and Freddie Mac surged as much as 34%, the largest single-day moves for each stock since May 2025
Summary
The $64 billion pitch announced Tuesday is Ackman’s latest move to turn Pershing into a “modern-day” Berkshire Hathaway and make him the next Warren Buffett. “The company’s management have done an excellent job nurturing and continuing to build a world-class artist roster and generating strong business performance,” Ackman said in a statement. The move comes weeks after Pershing filed to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, marking Ackman’s latest attempt to go public in the U.S. The hedge fund has a market cap of $11.27 billion, $28 billion in assets under management, and Ackman is worth $8.13 billion. Ackman, a self-described “Buffett devotee,” is following in his idol’s footsteps by attempting to acquire UMG.