Blackstone ups bid for Hipgnosis with $1.57bn offer

Music rights owner Hipgnosis said it it agreed terms on a $1.57bn (£1.26bn) takeover by private equity investor Blackstone, in the latest tit-for-tat battle with rival Concord.

Blackstone on Monday upped its offer to $1.30 a share in cash, or 104 pence a share, beating Concord’s latest offer of $1.25 a share for the owner of rights to music by artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Hipgnosis board advised investor to take no action on the most recent Concord bid as it swung behind Blackstone.

Competition for Hipgnosis between Concord - backed by Apollo Global Management - and Blackstone, has seen the target's share price surge by more than 50% since it started two weeks ago.

Blackstone also owns a majority stake in Hipgnosis’ investment adviser, Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM), which manages artists and songwriters for the fund.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com