Beyonce and Shakira song fund Hipgnosis agrees $1.4 billion sale to Concord

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Dimitri Hakke | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images London-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the music intellectual property investment company founded by Merck Mercuriadis and Nile Rodgers in 2018, announced Thursday its board has recommended a sale to music rights investor Concord — valuing the firm at $1.4 billion.
Hipgnosis snapped up song rights for high-profile artists including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyoncé, Mark Ronson, Shakira, Neil Young and Blondie, but has been mired in financial reporting issues, while its pre-tax operating loss widened in 2023 to $86.63 million.
In a release, the companies said Concord had a “proven track record of strategic acquisitions and catalogue expansion” and that the “creators connected to the rights” would benefit from the deal.
It also said that to achieve a “material improvement in the share price,” the company needed “substantial financial and governance changes to improve its financial performance.”