Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the British company that helped kick-start the music industry’s rush for catalog deals — acquiring tens of thousands of songs by Justin Bieber, Neil Young, Shakira and others — but has seen its share price plummet, has reached a tentative deal to sell itself to Concord, a major independent music company, for $1.4 billion.
Hipgnosis, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, said on Thursday that its board had given unanimous approval.
But the deal still faces what could be a significant hurdle in the form of a contractual option held by an affiliated company to buy the catalog at a set price.
Robert Naylor, the chairman of Hipgnosis, said in a statement: “The acquisition represents an attractive opportunity for our shareholders to immediately realize their holding at a premium, mitigating the risks we see ahead to achieving a material improvement in the share price.”Bob Valentine, the chief executive of Concord, which has a portfolio of labels like Stax and Craft, and large holdings in music publishing, added: “We believe we can integrate Hipgnosis’ catalogs into our wider portfolio of 1.2 million songs in a way that will deliver benefits for composers, performers and all our stakeholders.”
Persons:
Justin Bieber, Neil Young, Shakira, Robert Naylor, Hipgnosis, Bob Valentine
Organizations:
London Stock Exchange, Concord, Stax
Locations:
British, Concord