Vivendi shareholders okay spinoff of Universal stake

Shareholders in French media conglomerate Vivendi approved Tuesday plans to spin off its majority stake in Universal Music Group, a move long sought by analysts and its own top investors.

First floated in February, the plan as voted would see Vivendi distribute a 60 percent stake in UMG, worth 19.8 billion euros ($23.6 billion), to its shareholders.

The plan will also see the shares in UMG, whose artists and catalogue range from the Beatles to Lady Gaga, listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange in September.

Approval from Dutch authorities is still required for the plan to proceed.

Vivendi will keep a 10 percent take in UMG. It has sold off a 20 percent stake to Chinese tech firm Tencent and 10 percent to US financier Bill Ackman.

The French firm had long been under pressure by some shareholders to distribute the UMG shares to unlock their value.

Shares in Vivendi were little changed on Tuesday, but are up by around 10 percent since the beginning of the year.

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