New bid for song catalog fund puts Blackstone at #1

Blackstone Inc. made a fresh offer for Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd., surpassing a previous bid from music investment firm Concord and intensifying a bidding war for the owner of song catalogs from Blondie, the Kaiser Chiefs and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

Blackstone is offering $1.30 a share in cash for Hipgnosis, valuing the business at about $1.57 billion, the companies said in a statement on Monday. That’s the equivalent of about 104 pence per share, they said.  Hipgnosis’s board has unanimously recommended the latest Blackstone offer and has withdrawn its support of the rival Concord bid, it said. 

Concord, which is backed by Apollo Global Management Inc., had last offered $1.25 a share, or about $1.51 billion. That had beaten Blackstone’s last offer of $1.24 per share and increased Concord’s initial bid of $1.16. 

 Hipgnosis last year agreed to sell part of its song catalog to a venture between Blackstone and its founder Merck Mercuriadis, who previously managed celebrity musicians such as Beyonce and Elton John. However, shareholders vetoed that deal and voted against continuing the fund in its current form.

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. The company launched a strategic review last year and hired music rights specialist Shot Tower, resulting in a cut to its song portfolio valuation of more than a quarter. In March, Hipgnosis again cut the value of its portfolio after uncovering an accounting error.

Hipgnosis shares closed on Friday at 103.80 pence in London. 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is advising Concord on the deal, while Hipgnosis is working with Singer Capital Markets and Shot Tower Capital.