Vivendi shareholders back spinoff of Universal Music Group

Vivendi shareholders overwhelmingly backed the spinoff of its lucrative Universal Music Group, home to recording artists like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran.

With more than 99 percent approval, shareholders on Tuesday voted in favor of the plan to distribute 60 percent of UMG’s shares to existing Vivendi shareholders and to list the company on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The French media giant said the listing would take place on Sept. 21. The critical vote comes days after Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, the blank-check company of billionaire investor Bill Ackman, bought a 10 percent stake in UMG for roughly $4 billion.