It’s official: Universal Music Group has rejected Bill Ackman’s takeover offer.
UMG’s Board of Directors said today (May 29) that it has “unanimously determined that the unsolicited and non-binding proposal” it received from Pershing Square Capital Management on April 7, 2026, is “not in the best interests of UMG, its shareholders, artists, songwriters, employees and other stakeholders”.
The Board said it has “taken the time to fully assess the proposal submitted by Pershing Square”.
It added: “After careful review with the assistance of outside financial and legal advisors, the Board has rejected the proposal because it fundamentally and materially undervalues UMG and will not deliver superior value creation. The Board has heard from many of UMG’s shareholders and other stakeholders and believes there is a strong consensus supporting the Board’s decision”.
Sherry Lansing, Chairman of the Board, UMG said: “UMG has built an unrivalled position in the music industry through clear vision and strong execution. The Board has full confidence in Sir Lucian and his team’s ability to deliver sustainable growth and continued value creation for all stakeholders.”
Credit: Austin Hargrave
“As we execute our strategy and deliver maximum long term value, we look forward to providing shareholders with greater insight into the drivers of our performance and future direction of our business.”
Sir Lucian Grainge
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UMG added: “We remain committed to leading the industry by attracting the world’s top talent, deepening fan engagement globally, and driving innovation.
“Central to that mission is fostering an environment that champions human creativity, protects artists, songwriters, and entrepreneurs, and expands opportunities for growth and success.
“As we execute our strategy and deliver maximum long term value, we look forward to providing shareholders with greater insight into the drivers of our performance and future direction of our business.”
The rejection comes two days after Cyrille Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of the Bolloré Group – UMG‘s largest single shareholder – publicly urged the company’s management to turn down the offer.
“I encourage the management of Universal Music to reject it,” Bolloré told the Bolloré Group‘s annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday (May 27).
“As far as I am concerned, it is as if it has been rejected.”
“We think the price is not there at all,” Bolloré said.
“He is not making an offer with his own money,” he added. “It is our money, the company’s money.”
At the meeting, Bolloré described the next five to six years as critical for UMG to capitalize on superfan subscriptions, live music, geographic expansion, and merchandising.
He acknowledged that Ackman “was a very smart investor” who had raised “interesting” points on cash allocation and the opportunities presented by AI.
Pershing Square‘s non-binding proposal, unveiled in April, valued UMG at approximately €55.8 billion ($64.4 billion), or €30.40 per share – a 78% premium to the company’s closing price on April 2.
Under the terms, shareholders would have received €9.4 billion in cash and 0.77 shares of new stock for each UMG share held.
The plan would have merged UMG with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, with the combined company incorporating in Nevada and shifting its primary listing from Euronext Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange.
Ackman argued the move would unlock demand from institutional investors unable to buy non-US-listed securities.
UMG had put its own plans for a US secondary listing on hold in March 2026, citing turbulent market conditions.
The billionaire investor had also acknowledged that the deal hinged on Bolloré‘s support.
“Without Bolloré, we don’t have a transaction,” Ackman told investors when he presented the bid, adding that his first call before launching the proposal had been to the Bolloré Group.
Ackman described that initial response as “music to my ears.”
The Bolloré Group controls 28% of UMG via a direct stake in the music company plus its holding in Vivendi.
Pershing Square first acquired approximately 10% of UMG from Vivendi in the summer of 2021, and Ackman sat on the company’s board until May 2025.
Ackman has since sold down part of that position, including a 2.7% stake in March 2025.
Cyrille Bolloré stepped down from UMG‘s board in July 2025 to focus on his role at the Bolloré Group.
UMG generated revenues of €2.9 billion ($3.39 billion) in Q1 2026, up 8.1% year-over-year at constant currency.
Alongside those results, the company said it would sell half of its equity stake in Spotify, generating around $1.4 billion to help fund an expanded share buyback program.
Ackman‘s proposal had envisaged liquidating UMG‘s entire Spotify stake to help fund the cash portion of the bid.
Elsewhere in the statement today, UMG said: “As a company operating in a fast-evolving sector, UMG and its Board continuously assess the company’s business and financial strategy.
“The company recently initiated and subsequently expanded its buyback program, announced plans to monetize half of its Spotify equity stake, and announced it would provide the market with enhanced financial disclosure so that its business can be better assessed and understood. These are topics the Board and management have been considering for several months, and which will remain under continuous review.”
It added: “UMG has consistently led the industry, particularly since becoming a listed company in 2021. This has included pioneering an artist-centric approach to Streaming 2.0, underpinned by new agreements with digital service providers and leading the market in a responsible approach to the use of artificial intelligence. Also since listing, UMG has grown revenue by 60% and Adjusted EBITDA by nearly 70%(1), while sustaining healthy returns on equity. In 2025 UMG achieved a 33% share in recorded music, its highest share in 12 years, and a 24% share in music publishing, the highest share UMG has achieved since Music & Copyright started tracking market share in 2010. For the third consecutive year, in 2025 UMG artists held 9 of the top 10 positions on the annual IFPI Global Artist Chart.”
Citi is acting as financial advisor to the UMG Board of Directors, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V. are acting as legal advisors to the UMG Board of Directors.Music Business Worldwide
Amazon(AMZN 1.28%) primarily generates its revenue through a vast network of online and physical retail sales, consumer subscription programs, and enterprise cloud computing services.
It recently launched a new supply chain service and faced an investigation into its planned Globalstar acquisition, while reporting an approximately 17% net income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Microsoft: Steady Revenue Amid Restructuring
Microsoft(MSFT +5.25%) earns the majority of its revenue by licensing software products, selling hardware devices, and providing extensive cloud-based solutions to consumers and global enterprises.
It recently initiated a voluntary retirement program for a portion of its workforce and faced a new antitrust investigation in the United Kingdom, while reporting an approximately 38% net income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Why Revenue Matters for Retail Investors
Revenue serves as the most fundamental measure of total incoming money before any operating expenses, taxes, or other costs are subtracted. It allows investors to evaluate raw business growth and the fundamental demand for a company’s core offerings.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Quarterly Revenue for Amazon and Microsoft
Quarter (Period End)
Amazon Revenue
Microsoft Revenue
Q2 2024 (June 2024)
$148.0 billion
$64.7 billion
Q3 2024 (Sept. 2024)
$158.9 billion
$65.6 billion
Q4 2024 (Dec. 2024)
$187.8 billion
$69.6 billion
Q1 2025 (March 2025)
$155.7 billion
$70.1 billion
Q2 2025 (June 2025)
$167.7 billion
$76.4 billion
Q3 2025 (Sept. 2025)
$180.2 billion
$77.7 billion
Q4 2025 (Dec. 2025)
$213.4 billion
$81.3 billion
Q1 2026 (March 2026)
$181.5 billion
$82.9 billion
Data source: Company filings. Data as of May 28, 2026.
Foolish Take
Amazon and Microsoft compete in the cloud computing sector, with the former taking the top spot in terms of market share while the latter is number two. This part of their businesses is key for investors because it’s where their artificial intelligence offerings reside.
Although the bulk of Amazon’s revenue is generated by its e-commerce operations, which is why sales spike in the fourth quarter from holiday shopping, the growth in the company’s cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), helped its stock soar to a 52-week high of $278.56 on May 5.
Amazon invested heavily to upgrade AWS infrastructure in support of AI. This helped it capture customer demand, resulting in AWS sales skyrocketing 28% year over year in Q1 to $37.6 billion. The segment’s expansion handily out-performed Amazon’s retail division, leading to overall revenue rising 17% year over year to $181.5 billion.
Microsoft is no slouch in its sales growth, as revenue increased 18% year over year to $82.9 billion in its fiscal Q3 ended March 31. The tech titan reported its AI business experienced an annual revenue run rate increase of 123% year over year to $37 billion in the quarter.
While Microsoft’s overall sales numbers are nowhere near Amazon’s, they reveal the company’s AI business is enjoying growth comparable to its rival. Q3 cloud revenue rose 29% year over year to $54.5 billion. Consequently, Microsoft and Amazon are both compelling stocks to gain exposure to the AI market.
Chick-fil-A is offering a free entree on 7/14 when you dress like a cow for cow appreciation day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Can choose the following:
Breakfast: Chick-fil-A® Chicken Biscuit (Original) or 4-count Chick-n-Minis®.
Lunch/Dinner: Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich (Original or Spicy); 8-count Nuggets (Original or Grilled); or 3-count Chick-n-Strips.
Kids: A 5-count Nuggets Kids’ Meal (Original or Grilled), which includes a side, drink, and premium.
Our Verdict
Images on the landing page show some pretty low effort outfits. I think you could probably get away with a white tshirt that had some black bits taped on. It being worth it will really depend on how bad the lines are. We will repost on 7/14.
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0:00 Intro
0:20 Wie hoch ist deine Sparrate?
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3:21 Dein größter finanzieller Fehler
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In deciding to rebrand its company, Panorama Mortgage Group wanted to emphasize simplicity, said Hector Amendola, its president.
Processing Content
So SimplyPMG is now what the company will be known as, he said during an interview at the recent Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary and Capital Markets Conference in New York.
This takes the place of the several doing-business-as names it operated under, including Alterra Home Loans and Travisa Financial in addition to Panorama, Amendola said.
“Travisa Financial was our wholesale arm, and for a long time I think that there was a little bit of a division because of that in our company, and so we thought, you know what, it’s SimplyPMG, that’s the name of the company,” he said.
Hector Amendola of Panorama Mortgage Group
“We’ve always been one company, but there’s been a lot of complexity added because of the DBAs, and so it was our way of saying we want to keep things simple.”
For the company itself, the new moniker is a reminder of the need to keep things simple, because the mortgage industry tends to “add complexity for the sake of complexity,” Amendola noted.
Having those multiple brands, different names for different channels, was one of those unnecessary complexities, Amendola said.
“We do different DBAs because we think that’s what the people want,” he said. “In reality, it’s confusing to the consumer.”
SimplyPMG is what they fell in love with, as it referred to keeping things uncomplicated. Alterra might have been the better known brand coming in to the process, but the simple portion is what they are looking to focus on, he said.
Alterra Home Loans received private equity funding in 2016 from Panorama Point Partners.
The rebrand was in the works prior to the housing and mortgage market doing a sharp turn starting in March, when rates shifted course as the bond market reacted to inflation as a result of the Iran conflict.
Even though things have slowed down in the last couple of months, “there’s still a lot of buyers, the market’s still good,” he said. “We’re still doing well, not as good as we thought, but still doing well.”
Yet it is still in a sense market-driven. The company has been working for some time on how to get its loan manufacturing costs as low as possible.
“So the simpler process, better price, doesn’t come from nowhere,” Amendola said. “It’s coming from something we’ve been working on for years now.”
Getting those costs down is something all mortgage bankers should be concentrating on, he continued, pointing to data from the most recent MBA profitability study, where total production costs increased to just under $12,000 ($11,898 per loan).
“It shouldn’t be that much,” so lenders need to focus on getting those under control, Amendola said.
With the rebrand underway, SimplyPMG is focusing on growing its business. It added a branch in the Phoenix area, getting back into the market.
Its wholesale channel ramped up in December and it has been growing as well, Amendola said.
Retail is a great channel for SimplyPMG, but having wholesale and consumer direct means it is not beholden to a single production model.
He recounted having said “we feel like we’re the best kept secret in mortgage, and that’s not a compliment to us, right?
“Because we don’t want what we’re doing to be a secret, we want everybody to know what we’re doing, because it’s good for the consumer and it’s good for the industry,” said Amendola in response to his own comment.
2026.5 Update: This card is now discontinued. Existing card members can enjoy the benefits as before. Nobody knows yet if/when they will do an automatic conversion to another card.
2022.1 Update: The 30k link is expired. The current offer is 20k.
2021.11 Update: There’s a 30k direct link now (it seems to be a link from CreditKarma, and we have no relationship with them).
Application Link
Benefits
20k offer: earn 20,000 ThankYou Points after spending $1,500 in first 3 months. The recent best offer is 30k.
We estimate that ThankYou Points (TYP) are worth about 1.6 cents/point, see below for a brief introduction. So the 30k highest sign-up bonus is worth about $480.
Earn 5x TYP on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent; 1x TYP thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1x TYP on all other purchases.
5x eligible categories: Restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, live entertainment.
No annual fee.
Disadvantages
It has foreign transaction fee, so it’s not a good choice outside the US.
The upper limit for 5x return ($500 in spending) is quite low.
You can only have one Citi Custom Cash card.
Introduction to TYP
You can earn TYP with Citi Strata Elite, Citi Strata Premier, Citi Strata, Citi Custom Cash, Citi Double Cash, etc.
You can add all these cards into the same thankyou.com account, and points that are about to expire will be redeemed first in the order in which they expire automatically.
In most cases, TYP never expire. But closing account, product change, or receiving points from other people may cause TYP on that account to expire.
If you have Citi Strata Premier or Citi Strata Elite or Citi Prestige (Discontinued), TYP can be transferred to some airline miles. The best way to use TYP is to 1:1 transfer them to American Airlines miles (Oneworld) or EVA Air (BR) miles (Star Alliance). Other good options are: Cathay Pacific (CX) miles (Oneworld), Avianca (AV) miles (Star Alliance), Singapore Airlines (SQ) miles (Star Alliance), Flying Blue miles (SkyTeam), Virgin Atlantic (VS) miles (Non-alliance), etc. If you use TYP in this way, the value is about 1.6 cents/point.
You can redeem your TYP at a fixed rate 1 cent/point towards cash.
If you have Citi Prestige (Discontinued), you can redeem your TYP at a fixed rate 1.25 cents/point towards air tickets on thankyou.com. This is a common way to use TYP. Points+cash is available when redeeming for air tickets, so no need to worry if you do not have enough TYP.
If you have Citi Rewards+ (Discontinued), you can get 10% back when redeeming TYP, up to 100k TYP per year. This feature further boosts the value of TYP. [Expired]
In summary, we estimate that TYP are worth about 1.6 cents/point.
For more information about TYP, see Maximize the Credit Card Points Values (overview), and Introduction to TYP: How to Earn & Introduction to TYP: How to Use (very detailed).
Recommended Application Time
Bonus is not available if you received one for opening a new Citi Custom Cash℠ Card account in the past 48 months.
[8/65 Rule] You can apply for at most 1 Citi cards every 8 days, and at most 2 Citi cards every 65 days, no matter approved or not.
Citi values the number of recent hard pulls a lot, we recommend you apply when there’s less than 6 hard pulls in the past 6 months.
This is one of the easiest Citi card to get, but we still recommend you apply for this card after you have a credit history of at least half a year.
Summary
This card is interesting, you can earn 5x TYP on top spending category automatically, up to $500 in spending per month. This card is a competitor of 5% cashback cards such as Chase Free Flex and Discover it. It is a good choice for the categories which you don’t have 5% cashback card for. The 5x categories must be in the list of eligible categories, which is a limitation. The upper limit is quite low, but $500 per month is actually similar to the industry standard $1,500 per quarter. This card is a good card to have for Citi TYP points system, and it does not affect the bonus eligibility for Citi Premier and Citi Prestige. Therefore, in summary, this card is very recommended if you are interested in the Citi TYP points system!
If you have other Citi cards that you no longer use, you can consider converting it to this card.
Related Credit Cards
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The Kremlin sounded the alarm on its deteriorating finances earlier this year, just as its war on Ukraine pivoted dramatically against Russian forces.
According to a letter seen by the Financial Times, Russia’s finance ministry estimated in Feb. that spending on Vladimir Putin’s war was on pace to exceed its budget by at least 2 trillion rubles this year, or about $28 billion, with a more negative scenario putting that figure at 4 trillion rubles.
The ministry also put war-related overspending at 4 trillion rubles in 2027 and 2028, while asking the cabinet to freeze trillions in non-defense outlays in the coming years.
The projected explosion in war costs comes as Russia’s budget deficit was quickly diving deeper into negative territory. The Kremlin had earlier seen a deficit of 3.8 trillion rubles for all of 2026, but it’s already 5.9 trillion rubles in the first four months of the year, according to the FT.
The deficit outlook has worsened so much that the finance ministry asked government agencies to cut non-essential spending by 10%. Economic growth is also stagnating, with GDP expected to tick up just 0.4% this year, down from a previous view for 1.3%.
As Russia’s finances go further into the red, the government has been forced to tap reserves in its wealth fund. But that is rapidly dwindling too. Meanwhile, high war-related inflation has kept interest rates high and is stoking fears of a debt crisis among companies and consumers.
The spike in oil prices since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started in late February has helped Russia’s finances since the letter was sent. But Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said recently that surplus revenue from energy exports in April was basically offset by weak revenue in March. Meanwhile, the Kremlin’s payments to domestic oil companies to cap fuel price hikes have also limited the benefit from oil.
Ukraine’s game-changer
The Kremlin’s February warning coincided with a pivotal moment in Russia’s war on Ukraine. That same month, SpaceX cut off the Russian military’s ability to use Starlink internet connections to launch drones, drastically reducing their ability to hit targets.
At the same time, Ukraine unleashed its own drone innovations that gave Kyiv the ability to evade air defenses and strike deep inside Russian territory.
Since then, Ukrainian drone attacks have hammered Russian oil infrastructure, further eroding energy revenues, and more recently have disrupted supply lines that connect Russia with occupied territories.
That’s frozen Russian troops in place with Ukraine even making some gains now. Russian casualties also have soared to more than 30,000 a month, draining the Kremlin’s financial resources even more as bigger incentives must be offered to recruit enough replacements and pay out death benefits.
“Ukraine’s success in blunting Russian advances and reversing Russian gains in some sectors of the line, in tandem with Ukraine’s limited reintroduction of elements of tactical mechanized maneuver, may nevertheless mark the beginning of a new phase of the war,” the Institute for the Study of War said in a report on Monday.
The prevalence of drone warfare had previously limited the ability of either side to make much headway. But Ukraine now enjoys “tactical drone supremacy,” according to the think tank.
In fact, for the first time since 2023, Ukraine is starting to regain more ground than it is losing, ISW said, seizing the initiative with new tactics and putting Russia on the back foot.
There’s no single explanation for recent successes, the report noted, citing improved operational planning, new battlefield-management software, and different counterattack techniques.
Still, drones have been key as Kyiv has estimated that it has 1.3 strike drones on the frontline for every 1 Russian drone. Ukraine has grown a domestic defense industrial base that can crank out millions of drones a year, meaning it can send thousands of fresh drones on the battlefield each month.
“Ukrainian forces are achieving temporary tactical drone overmatch in some frontline sectors, which is slowing Russian offensive operations by degrading the effectiveness of Russian shaping operations,” ISW said.
Many people come to me feeling tired because of loans, no savings, blocked income, sudden expenses or constant financial pressure… and honestly, I’ve seen how deeply it affects someone mentally and emotionally too.
As Money stress hits differently when you’re trying your best but still things don’t work out the way you want. 💸
That’s why I always suggest simple spiritual remedies along with positive intention and faith. ✨
Sometimes the problem is not just hard work… sometimes your energy also needs healing, balance and positivity.
This is one of the remedies I personally suggest to people who feel tired of constantly worrying about money and stability.
Not every solution needs to be complicated… sometimes small spiritual practices done with faith can slowly shift your energy in beautiful ways. 🖤
Maybe this reel reached you for a reason.
Save this reel so you can try it later & share it with someone who is silently struggling financially right now. 🙏
If you are facing deeper issues related to love, career, business, health or finances and need personal guidance, you can connect with me through a personalised tarot session. I’ll try my best to guide and help you out.
DM me to book your reading ✨
Or you can contact on this number for reading: +91 83779 47737
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Contact For Personalized Paid Consultation Of Tarot Reading By Dr. Sneha Jain – +91- 8377947737
![[7/14] Chick-fil-A: Dress Like A Cow & Get A Free Entree](https://globalinvestmentstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/chick-fil-a-1024x398-768x299.png "[7/14] Chick-fil-A: Dress Like A Cow & Get A Free Entree")
