Universal Music Group kicked off its EUR €500 million (USD $579m) share repurchase program on Wednesday (April 1).
The program, initially announced on Monday (March 30), marks the company’s first-ever share buyback.
As previously announced, the world’s largest music company will buy back shares through a program executed by a single, unnamed broker. The shares will be repurchased from the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Turquoise Europe, Aquis Exchange Europe and CBOE Europe Limited.
The program is capped at 50 million shares and is expected to wrap up by October 1, 2026, although UMG reserved the right to suspend, modify, or discontinue it at any point.
The repurchased stock will be used to satisfy obligations under UMG’s 2022 Global Equity Plan and any subplans tied to it. The company may also use the repurchased shares to reduce its total share count, effectively concentrating ownership among remaining holders. UMG said the number of shares eligible for use under the equity plan will remain unchanged.
The buyback secured approval from UMG shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting of shareholders in May 2025.
In early-morning trade on Wednesday, UMG’s shares listed on the Euronext Amsterdam rose 0.6%, extending the 2.8% jump on Tuesday (March 31).
UMG has traded publicly on the Euronext Amsterdam since September 2021.
In announcing the buyback plan earlier this week, UMG Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis said: “We currently see a meaningful dislocation in UMG’s market valuation.”
“Our strong balance sheet and cash generation gives us the flexibility to repurchase shares, while preserving ample capacity to invest in our growth strategy, and reconfirming our commitment to maintaining our credit ratings and our dividend policy.”
Last month, UMG put plans for a secondary listing on a US stock exchange on hold, citing turbulent market conditions.
At the time, UMG said: “With the uncertainty in the market creating a meaningful dislocation in UMG’s valuation, the Company’s Board of Directors has decided that it is not the right time to move ahead with a US listing.”
Also in March, UMG reported its financial results for Q4 and the full year ended December 31, 2025. In Q4, UMG’s revenues jumped 10.6% YoY at constant currency to €3.605 billion ($4.19bn), boosted by strong growth in the Recorded Music segment. Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 came in at €810 million ($941.9m), representing a margin of 22.5%.
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