Concord agrees £1.1bn deal to buy music rights fund Hipgnosis

Music royalties giant Hipgnosis has agreed to a 1.4 billion US dollars (£1.12 billion) takeover by US rival Concord.

The fund, which owns the back catalogues for artists including Justin Bieber and Shakira, launched a strategic review last year to assess a potential sale and other options.

On Thursday, Hipgnosis confirmed that Alchemy Copyrights, trading as Concord, had struck the takeover deal to buy the business for the equivalent of 93.2p per share.

Alchemy purchased fellow UK-based royalties fund Round Hill Music last year in a £376 million move.

The deal, which will happen through a court-approved arrangement, has received the support of the company board and will need backing from investors.

It comes amid an increasingly intense relationship between the board of Hipgnosis and its investment adviser, Hipgnosis Song Management Limited (HSM).

Robert Naylor, chairman of Hipgnosis, called for HSM, and its majority owner Blackstone, to agree an orderly termination of their investment advisory agreement in order to help the deal pass.

He added: “The acquisition represents an attractive opportunity for our shareholders to immediately realise their holding at a premium, mitigating the risks we see ahead to achieving a material improvement in the share price.

“At the same time, the board is confident that Concord, one of the world’s leading independent music companies, is the right owner to take on the Hipgnosis catalogue and manage it in the interests of composers and performers.”

Bob Valentine, chief executive officer of Concord, said: “We believe we are offering a fair price for Hipgnosis’ catalogues and music assets, giving its shareholders the opportunity to realise their investment at a significant premium to the prevailing share price in cash.

“Concord is the world’s leading independent music company, with extensive experience in developing, producing and marketing recordings and songs around the world in order to maximise their value.

“We believe we can integrate Hipgnosis’ catalogues into our wider portfolio of 1.2 million songs in a way that will deliver benefits for composers, performers and all our stakeholders.”