Chinese tech giant Tencent is in talks with French media company Vivendi to buy 10% of Universal Music Group, whose artists include Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, U2 and the Rolling Stones.
Vivendi said Tuesday it has started preliminary negotiations that value Universal Music at about 30 billion euros ($33.6 billion).
Tencent would have a one-year option to buy an additional 10% stake, the statement said.
The Chinese and French companies are also considering "areas of strategic commercial cooperation."
Vivendi said that the deal would help it seize new growth opportunities and better promote Universal artists and new talents in new markets.
Tencent is the world's largest gaming company and one of the world's biggest social media businesses.
Production company m ss ng p eces has added Jun Diaz to its directorial roster for U.S. commercial representation. Diaz has helmed dozens of campaigns for brands including the NFL, IKEA, BMW, Samsung, Converse, Mastercard, Seamless, Heineken, eBay, and the Ad Council. He also created a series of captivating films for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) Awards.
Diaz’s inspiring PSA entitled “Make Them Visible” for the NYC Rescue Mission was an experiment featuring footage of unsuspecting people walking by their family members, all dressed to appear homeless. The footage was then shown to the unaware people, leaving many speechless and emotionally moved to tears. Profoundly affecting, the PSA reached two million views in three days and earned a spot on YouTube’s Top 20 Worldwide.
Prior to joining m ss ng p eces, Diaz was most recently represented by production company O Positive.
Half Filipino and half Japanese, Diaz was born in Tokyo. He grew up traveling to various parts of Southeast Asia and East Africa with his parents and four siblings before moving to the U.S. to pursue his dream of becoming a director. Forging his own path in the industry, Diaz was an editor for over a decade before transitioning to directing. He gained widespread acclaim for his work in commercials and feature films, with editing credits including American Movie, Home Movie, and the critically acclaimed The Kid Stays In The Picture, for which he received an ACE Eddie Award nomination for Best Edited Documentary Film.
“Kate, Ari, Brian, and the whole m ss ng p eces team have built a community,” said Diaz. “Creatively, I mesh so well with them. In some ways, I feel it’s a new beginning for me, because you can never... Read More
