Hipgnosis Songs Fund: Request to Remove Call Option Declined

Hipgnosis Songs Fund has announced that its request to have the call option removed from its investment advisory agreement with Hipgnosis Songs Management has been declined. The call option grants the adviser the right to purchase the portfolio at a specific time and price. The proposal to remove this option was made to ensure that potential buyers are not discouraged from placing bids and is deemed to be in the best interest of shareholders as a whole.

The London-listed song catalog fund, which owns rights to tracks by renowned artists such as Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has recently formed a new board to conduct a strategic review and explore various options for the future of the company.

In October, shareholders voted against the sale of 29 music catalogues for a cash consideration of $440 million to Hipgnosis Songs Capital (HSC), which is majority-owned by funds managed or advised by Blackstone. Following this development, the board is now investigating whether these catalogues were chosen specifically due to their significantly higher growth rates compared to the rest of the portfolio. Additionally, they aim to determine if the previous board had been properly informed about this potential cherry-picking of assets and whether their decision was made in the best interest of shareholders.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund's shares were down 0.3% at 72.00 pence as of 0919 GMT.