Malone Kicking UMG Tires?

Malone – whose company owns at least a one-fourth share of Live Nation – and LN chairman Greg Maffei have approached Vivendi chairman Vincent Bolloré to gauge his interest in unloading Universal Music Group, according to the New York Post.

But Bolloré, whose 8.3 percent stake in Vivendi makes him its largest shareholder as well as the company’s chairman, reportedly showed little interest. If Bolloré could convince his fellow stakeholders to sell UMG, it would be at a hefty price. Japan’s SoftBank made an $8.5 billion cash offer to Vivendi in 2013, but was turned down, according to the Post.

And there’s some history between Liberty and Vivendi. Liberty won a $950 million judgment against Vivendi that same year, after it sued the company for allegedly inflating the value of shares the French company used to buy Liberty’s stake in USA Networks more than a decade earlier, the paper reports.

Unnamed sources told the Post the discussion was “informal” and “deemed a long shot.” They said music publishing is another area of interest for Liberty.