(Reuters) – Apollo-backed Concord said on Thursday it would stick to its $1.25-a-share offer for the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, days after Blackstone (NYSE:) outbid it for the music owner rights of artists such as Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The $1.51 billion offer from Nashville-based Concord was the second to a music rights investor as the company battled Blackstone for the rights to more than 65,000 songs, including tracks by Blondie and Neil Young.
Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm, raised its offer in April to $1.30 a share, or about $1.57 billion, above Concord’s attempt to get Hipgnosis’s board to support the deal.
Concord is indirectly controlled by Alchemy Copyrights, which acquired music investor and fellow Hipgnosis Round Hill Music last year.
Blackstone is a majority shareholder of HSM, an investment advisor to Hipgnosis that manages the fund’s artists and songwriters, and has a call option to make a higher offer on the Hipgnosis portfolio if their advisory agreement is terminated.
Blackstone’s offering is independent of HSM.
Hipgnosis, founded by industry veteran and former Merck CEO Mercuriadis in 2018, began a strategic review last year after a shareholder vote against continuing the fund led to a turbulent period and a dispute with HSM over a call option.