Concord confirmed Thursday that it will no longer proceed with its $1.51 billion takeover bid Hipgnosis Songs Fundgiving rival bidder Black stone a now unobstructed path to its acquisition Merck Mercuriadis-established company and its directories red hot chili peppers, Journey, Neil Young and others.
The London Stock Exchange filing, which said Concord was freed from the terms of its offer, was expected after the Nashville-based music company said it would not raise its bid to compete with Blackstone's $1.57 billion bid. which was announced on April 29.
But it does mean that $1 trillion global asset manager Blackstone is poised to take over the hipgnosis financial fund, adding it to a growing portfolio of music companies that includes music rights organization SESAC, MNRK Music Group and two other entities Name Hipgnosis .
Concord and the Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) board surprised Blackstone and the broader market on April 18 with a $1.4 billion takeover bid, which HSF's board approved. While Blackstone initially balked, it initially submitted an offer to acquire HSF for $1.24 per share, which Concord topped a few days later by offering $1.25 per share.
But Blackstone not only won the support of HSF's board with its latest offer of $1.30 per share, but the investment giant always had the upper hand because of the option to match or exceed any HSF takeover offer. Blackstone owns a majority stake in Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM), HSF's investment adviser. In an agreement dating back to HSF's 2018 initial public offering, it was stipulated that the investment adviser could match or beat any takeover bid for HSF – an option meant to give artists confidence that their catalogs would not resold.
Blackstone also has a private equity fund called Hipgnosis Songs Capital. Investment adviser Hipgnosis Song Management advises both this private fund and the public HSF.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund investors will vote on the takeover offer at an upcoming meeting. At least 75% of the shares are required to vote in favor of the deal for it to be adopted.
