Shareholders of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which in recent years has made waves by helping popularize music rights as an asset class, voted in favor of a $1.6 billion takeover by US private equity firm Blackstone, according to filings on Tuesday.
A regulatory filing showed that shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal, which caps a turbulent year for the British firm, including a bidding war that followed investor concerns about the fund’s share price falling.
Its outspoken boss Merck Mercuriadis last week announced he would step down as chairman of Hipgnosis Song Management once Blackstone’s takeover of the fund is complete.
The Hipgnosis Songs Fund is listed as an investment trust on the London Stock Exchange, where it went public six years ago. His portfolio includes tens of thousands of pieces.
Mercuriadis ran the separate management company, which in 2021 Blackstone invested $1 billion to partner.
Carlsberg sues British soft drinks maker Britvic for Β£3.3bn
Hipgnosis has played a big role in increasing sales of lucrative music portfolios, dropping staggering sums on catalogs including those of Neil Young, Justin Bieber and Shakira.
Mercouriadis, a longtime industry executive who has at times managed the careers of stars such as Elton John and BeyoncΓ©, argued that music was an asset whose revenue would operate outside of normal market fluctuations.
He co-founded Hipgnosis with guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers.
But as the music catalog buying frenzy saw several years of blockbuster sales, some in the industry grumbled that Hipgnosis was overpaying and jacking up prices.
Concerns last year about the company’s share price as well as asset valuations prompted calls for structural changes and a search for an outside buyer.
American independent music label Concord had reached a tentative deal to acquire the fund for $1.4 billion, but Blackstone’s highest bid won out in the end.
Euro slips in Asian trade after early polls in France
Announcing his decision to step down last week, Mercouriadis said “this is a timely opportunity for me to undertake a strategic shift in focus and spend more time supporting songwriters to ensure they are properly compensated for their work.”
Source: AFP