Apollo Global Management has agreed to help finance the acquisition of British song investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $1.4bn by Nashville-based music company Concord, through the provision of debt and a minority indirect equity interest in the deal, according to a report by Reuters.
Under the proposed terms of the transaction, Hipgnosis shareholders, who have yet to approve the acquisition, will get $1.16 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 32% on Wednesday’s closing price, based on current exchange rates.
The company’s shares, which have fallen more than 45% from their 2021 peak, rose 31% to 92.5 pence ($1.15) in early trading, when news of the deal broke.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund launched a strategic review last year, leading to a board overhaul after shareholders rejected the fund’s proposed $440m sale of 29 catalogues to Hipgnosis Songs Capital – a partnership between Blackstone and the fund’s investment adviser Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM).
Concord will take over the management of Hipgnosis’ assets — which includes the catalogues of artists including Shakira and Neil Young — after the deal completes and following a “short transition” period with HSM, it said.
