Blackstone outmuscles Concord with $1.6bn bid for Hipgnosis

Bengaluru — Blackstone has agreed to acquire Hipgnosis Songs Fund for about $1.57bn, trumping an offer from Concord for the music rights owner of artists such as Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers, the companies said on Monday.

Blackstone’s formal offer valued the music rights investor at $1.30 per share, the companies said, higher than Concord’s $1.25 per share offer last Wednesday.

Hipgnosis shares, which have rallied since the takeover interests, rose 2.7% to £1.06 in early trade.

The deal will cause more than 65,000 songs, including tracks by Blondie and Neil Young, to be added to Blackstone’s music rights portfolio, which already includes songs by Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake.

Blackstone has also invested in US performance rights organisation Sesac, whose affiliates include rock legend Bob Dylan and 16-time Grammy Award winner Adele.

Its sweetened offer on Monday comes days after Concord outbid the world’s largest private equity firm by 10c and had won Hipgnosis’ board backing for the deal.

The fund’s board withdrew its recommendation for the offer from Nashville-based music firm Concord.

Concord declined to comment.

“We are delighted that, after competitive interests in acquiring Hipgnosis, our investors now have a chance to immediately realise their holding at an increased premium,” Hipgnosis chair Robert Naylor said.

Blackstone is a majority shareholder in Hipgnosis’ investment adviser, HSM, which manages artists and songwriters for the fund, and holds a call option to make a higher offer for Hipgnosis’ portfolio if their advisory agreement were to be terminated.

The Blackstone proposal is independent of HSM.

Founded by industry veteran and ex-CEO Merck Mercuriadis in 2018, Hipgnosis started a strategic review last year after a shareholder vote against the continuation of the fund led to a tumultuous period and a dispute with HSM over the call option.

HSM had earlier warned Hipgnosis against terminating the advisory agreement as the previously agreed Concord deal involved the US-based firm taking over the management of Hipgnosis’ assets.

Reuters