Akman’s Pershing Square Universal Music: SPAC signs $ 40 billion deal with source

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman’s blank check ends with a deal to take Universal Music Group publicly, CNBC’s Leslie Picker told CNBC on Thursday.

The potential SPAC connection estimates Universal Music at about $ 40 billion. This will become the largest SPAC deal, Delogic data shows.

The deal will tap the SPAC merger of Southeast Asia’s rider-appraisal company Grop. Altimeter Grow Corp. Out of first place. According to SPAC research, the deal is worth more than $ 30 billion.

Pershing Square Dontine Holding (BSTH) shares were down more than 8% at $ 25.05 in extended trading after closing on Thursday. The SPAC IPO was offered for $ 20 a share, which began trading in September 2020.

Vivendi, a French media company Majority owner Universal Music. Chinese technology company Tencent is a minority partner.

Blank-check companies are usually created to raise funds for a fund or acquisition through an IPO, usually within two years.

The news came as the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed an accounting rule change and SPAC hit a roadblock at the market regulatory front, which would classify SPAC warrants as liabilities instead of equity instruments. SPAC supply has plummeted since the record first quarter.

A total of 151 SPAC initial public offerings were completed by 2021, raising $ 47.6 billion, according to data from SPAC Research. According to SPAC research, 289 contracts are actively seeking targets.

Privacy CNBC SPAC 50 IndexIt oversees 50 of the largest blank-check deals in the U.S. based on the market cap, destroying its 2021 profits between the regulatory review and trading 4% lower per year.

– Yun Li of CNBC contributed to this report.