Hipgnosis song fund set to be acquired by Blackstone

Hipgnosis song fund set to be acquired by Blackstone
Concord has said it will not raise its bid any further.
MAY 09, 2024

Concord said its latest offer for Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. is final, ending a bidding war and setting up the song catalog company to be sold to Blackstone Inc.

Concord, which is backed by Apollo Global Management Inc., had offered $1.25 per share, and said in a statement on Thursday that the price will not be increased. That was topped last week by a $1.30 per share bid from Blackstone, valuing the business at about $1.57 billion. After that offer, Hipgnosis’s board unanimously recommended Blackstone’s offer and withdrew its support of the Concord bid.

Founded in 2018 in London, Hipgnosis bought up song catalogs with the goal of turning music into an asset class, but the fund struggled to recoup its investment in music rights. It owns song catalogs from Blondie, the Kaiser Chiefs and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

The shares fell 2.1% to trade at 102 pence at the open in London.

Copyright Bloomberg News

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