LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — The board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) on Monday announced that they were unanimously backing a bid from private equity giant Blackstone for almost $1.6bn.
The decision to back the Blackstone bid comes after the private equity giant upped their initial proposal of $1.24 per share to $1.30.
Blackstone raised its bid after Concord, backed by private equity investor Apollo, sweetened its offer for Hipgnosis last week.
Following the upgraded bid from Blackstone, HSF’s board withdrew its support for the earlier bid by Concord.
Founded by Merck Mercuriadis in 2018, Hipgnosis Songs Fund represents a portfolio of 138 catalogs and more than 40,000 songs across multiple genres and eras, including catalogs from artists such as Blondie, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Shakira, among others.
“Our offer price, which has been unanimously recommended by the Board, represents a significant premium to the unaffected share price and allows shareholders to realize immediate and attractive value for their shareholding. The offer is the result of extensive discussion and negotiations with the Board and provides shareholders the certainty of cash today,” stated Qasim Abbas, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone. “Blackstone is a long-term investor with deep experience of investing across the media and entertainment sectors, including in music rights. The breadth of the Blackstone platform, combined with our operational expertise, will support and enhance the value of the acquired rights.”
“The Board is pleased to unanimously recommend this US$1.6 billion Offer for Hipgnosis from Blackstone. Since we started our strategic review, we have been clearly focused on looking at all the options to deliver shareholder value. We are delighted that, following competitive interests in acquiring Hipgnosis, our investors now have a chance to immediately realize their holding at an increased premium,” added Robert Naylor, Chairman of HSF.
