So Long, Hipgnosis Songs Fund — Investors Overwhelmingly Approve Nearly $1.6 Billion Sale to Blackstone

So long, Hipgnosis Songs Fund: Six years, many twists, and no shortage of drama later, shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the company’s sale to Blackstone.

That formal signoff arrived at a pair of London meetings this morning, a couple weeks after Blackstone, bidding via the newly created Lyra Bidco, declared its nearly $1.6 billion offer final. The declaration coincided with reports, including from outlets such as the Financial Times, that hedge funds had obtained the votes necessary to block the sale.

Ultimately, though, these funds opted against attempting to derail the Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) acquisition, itself the product of months’ worth of careful maneuvering from the revamped board.

Furthermore, today’s votes weren’t close; the sale scheme garnered 99.97 percent approval in both the court and general meetings, HSF drove home in its recap of the results. Now, in keeping with a previously announced schedule, the transaction will need to secure approval at a July 26th court hearing.

Assuming that signoff comes to fruition – and evidence suggests that it will – Hipgnosis stock (LON: SONG) will cease transferring on the public market that same day before delisting altogether on the 29th and into the 30th. The involved parties have identified August 12th as the latest date on which SONG stakeholders will receive payment (at $1.31 per share).

But as DMN Pro covered in detail, even that payment won’t mark the end of the Hipgnosis story. In terms of actual company operations, Blackstone has made clear plans to keep the brand (minus Merck Mercuriadis, who’s officially exited Hipgnosis Song Management due to the votes) alive into the future.

And while HSF’s dealmaking has been paused for some time, different Hipgnosis entities have continued closing high-profile catalog plays. Separately, Hipgnosis and Mercuriadis are still fending off legal actions levied in connection with a defunct predecessor to HSF, Hipgnosis Music Limited. We’ve also explored that fiasco, revolving around two convicted fraudsters who helped launch the initial Hipgnosis iteration, as well.

Hipgnosis’ impact isn’t limited to operations under the company banner. In many ways, the songs fund’s ascent, unprecedented music-IP landgrab, and many difficulties ushered in (or at least coincided with) a new era for the catalog space. Stated concisely, there are now far more players and capital tranches making waves in the arena, and for better or worse, sizable sales have become part of the regular industry news cycle.

On that front, Sony Music is reportedly nearing an almost $1.3 billion agreement for Queen’s body of work, following a record-setting investment in Michael Jackson’s IP earlier in 2024.