Lauren Hardy, Portfolio Adviser, 18 APRIL 2024:
Concord Chorus Limited (Bidco) – an entity controlled by Alchemy Copyrights – has agreed to purchase the entire issued share capital of the beleaguered music royalties investment trust, Hipgnosis Songs Fund.
The proposed deal values the entire capital of Hipgnosis at $1.4bn, which equates to $1.16 (£0.932) per share. This represents a premium of 32.2% to its closing price last night (17 April), according to QuotedData, or a 4.3% premium relative to the adjusted operative NAV as at 30 September last year.
Concord, which currently has a catalogue of more than 260,000 active albums and 600,000 copyrighted works under its belt, has been acquiring music copyrights for more than a decade. Since 2015, it has deployed more than $2.8bn of capital into recorded music, music publishing and theatricals across more than 100 transactions. The firm purchased fellow music royalties investment trust, Round Hill Music, in 2023..
Commenting on the bid, a spokesperson for QuotedData said: “After the many disappointments of the past couple of years, finally some good news. While this would crystallise a loss for many investors, it provides an exit at a price higher than any we have seen since about September 2022.
“It is possible that this kick starts a bidding war, it is possible that the manager will find a way to exercise its pre-emption right to buy the portfolio at the same price. The drama may not be over yet but it does feel like we are in the Final Act.”
Read more here