Michael Ovitz will be chairman of the board of Universal Music Group if billionaire Bill Ackman‘s bid for the music giant goes through — marking a return to the entertainment business for the CAA co-founder, who has focused on Silicon Valley after leaving Hollywood years ago.
On Tuesday news broke that Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital made a $63.5 billion offer to buy UMG (home of Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter and more). But some details of the deal, namely Ovitz’ involvement, went largely missing in action when it was reported around town.
The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Deadline all didn’t mention Ovitz’s name at all in their reports on Ackman’s UMG bid.
Michael Ovitz is seen at Craig’s restaurant in 2019. GC Images In a letter from Ackman to the UMG board, the hedgie wrote that as part of his plan: “UMG’s board will be refreshed to include Michael Ovitz as Chairman and two representatives from Pershing Square in addition to members from the current UMG board.” (Former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing is the current UMG board chair.)
Ackman went on to write, “Ovitz is one of the most recognized global entertainment executives, having represented many of the most important and iconic music, film, and entertainment acts in the world. He also has a 40-year relationship with [UMG chairman and CEO] Sir Lucian Grainge.”
The former superagent — who repped clients from Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg to Coca-Cola — also previously shepherded Madonna‘s career, and put together the deal for Sony to buy CBS Records. (MIchael Jackson once infamously told Ovitz he wanted to be the next James Bond.)
Ackman and Ovitz’s plan for UMG involves keeping Ovitz’s close friend of four decades, UMG CEO Sir Lucien Grainge, in place — and unlike Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid to win Warner Bros. Discovery, the deal is more kumbaya than kamikaze. (After all, Ackman’s known as the activist investor who famously tried to take control of Botox-maker Allergan, and took out a $1B short on Herbalife in a battle of wills with fellow master of the universe Carl Icahn that cost him $700 million.)
We hear both Ackman and Ovitz met Grainge for dinner a couple weeks ago.
One Hollywood player said of Ackman’s letter to UMG, “This is like Jack Nicholson in that space movie [‘Mars Attacks’]: ‘We come in peace!'” Said the insider, “Lucien is a god in music and he knows his stuff. They’ve got good management. Bill’s a savvy guy. The company can’t be duplicated. But they’re listed in Holland, and the Street doesn’t understand.”
Ackman praised Grainge in his letter, writing, “Grainge and management have done an excellent job nurturing and continuing to build a world-class artist roster… and demonstrating the company’s ability to harness growth opportunities from AI while also protecting the company’s and its artists’ intellectual property.” The letter added: “UMG is expected to generate accelerated growth beginning this calendar year with the benefit of wholesale price increases, while music remains the lowest cost form of media entertainment.”
UMG CEO Sir Lucien Grainge would stay in place under Ackman’s plan. Getty Images But Ackman said the UMG stock price “languished,” in part, because of it’s Amsterdam listing. He plans to move it to the NYSE. The UMG share price has reportedly been driven down by more than 30% since its 2021 spinoff from Vivendi. (Ackman stepped down from the UMG board himself in May 2025.)
A Wall Street source told us of UMG: “Every employee’s options are underwater… the shareholders are underwater.”
Ovitz, who has invested in 200 companies over the past 20 years as a venture capitalist and helped create Andreessen Horowitz, could translate the entertainment business and working with artists to Ackman, who reportedly wants to build a “modern-day version of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.”
One wild card in the deal is the France’s billionaire Bolloré family, who own 18% of UMG. (Via Vivendi, the Bolloré Group has another 13% of UMG. They also have stakes in Canal+, Hachette and ad and PR company Havas.) Ackman, who owns 5% of UMG, has dangled various carrots to entice the Bollorés to bite.
Figured a music pro: “They either get approval of the Bolloré family, or don’t get approval and there’s no deal.” So will Ackman and Ovitz rock on?
UMG said in a statement that its board is now reviewing the proposal “in accordance with its fiduciary duties and analyze its implications for shareholders, employees, artists, songwriters and other stakeholders.” The statement added: “The Board of Directors has complete confidence in UMG’s strategy and the leadership of Sir Lucian Grainge and the Company’s management team. UMG will have no further comment on the proposal until the Board of Directors completes its review.”
