Vivendi Plots IPO for Universal Music by Year End

Dow Jones: Vivendi shares rose sharply after the European media giant said that it plans to distribute 60% of its subsidiary Universal Music Group’s capital to shareholders and to spin off its profitable music label by year’s end. “Vivendi’s leading institutional shareholders have been pressing for a number of years for a split or the distribution of Universal Music Group to reduce Vivend’s conglomerate discount.”