- Shares in the FTSE 250 were up 31% as of 8:30am UK time on Thursday.
- Hipgnosis has acquired the rights to songs by notable artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mark Ronson, Shakira, Neil Young, and Blondie.
- However, the company was mired in financial reporting issues, and its 2023 pre-tax operating loss widened to $86.63 million.
Nile Rodgers of Chic performs on stage at the North Sea Jazz Festival held at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands on July 14, 2018.
Hypnosis Songs Fund, a London-listed music intellectual property investment firm founded in 2018 by Merck Mercuriadis and Nile Rodgers, announced on Thursday that its board of directors has decided to invest in Concord, a music copyright investment firm that valued the company at ¥14. announced that it had recommended selling the company for $1 billion.
Shares in the FTSE 250 were up 31% as of 8:30am UK time on Thursday.
Hypnosis acquired the rights to songs from notable artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyoncé, Mark Ronson, Shakira, Neil Young and Blondie, but was embroiled in financial reporting issues and had to cancel its pre-tax sales in 2023. The loss widened to $86.63. a million.
The valuation is equivalent to 0.932 pounds ($1.16) per share, a 32.2% premium to Wednesday’s closing price. Financing for the transaction will be supported by Concord’s partner, US private equity giant Apollo Capital Management.
The companies said in a release that Concord has a “track record of strategic acquisitions and catalog expansion” and that “creators involved in the rights” will benefit from the deal.
It also said achieving “significant improvements in share price” would require “significant financial and governance changes to improve financial performance.”
