NY-BLACKSTONE
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Hipgnosis Song Management Ltd (“HSM”) today announce a new partnership, backed by funds managed by Blackstone, which will initially deliver c.$1 billion to acquire music rights and manage catalogues.
Hipgnosis Song Management, founded by Merck Mercuriadis and formerly known as The Family (Music) Ltd, is one of the industry’s leading advisory firms focused on music assets and is investment advisor to Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd (LSE: SONG), the largest UK-listed investor in music catalogues and royalties with gross assets of c.$2.2 billion.
Merck Mercuriadis, CEO of Hipgnosis Song Management, said : “Hipgnosis Song Management has firmly established songs as an asset class. This new partnership with Blackstone will deliver financial strength to invest in proven songs as well as grow our song management team and bring additional sophistication to HSM, enabling us to create greater value to our stakeholders including our songwriters and shareholders in SONG. Given the strength of our pipeline, we see the initial commitment as just the start of a long-term partnership between Blackstone and Hipgnosis that will also include co-investment with SONG.”
Qasim Abbas, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, said : “This partnership underscores the long term, sustainable value we see in creative content across the wider entertainment industry, building on Merck’s vision and dynamism. The music industry has been at the forefront of the fast-growing streaming economy and is unlocking new ways of consuming content. We look forward to working with Merck and his team to continue their exciting journey and safeguard the legacy of the songwriters that entrust us with their content.”
As part of the partnership, Blackstone will take an ownership stake in HSM and will support the expansion of its infrastructure and business functions, including the development of new song management expertise, data science capabilities and technology solutions. This should allow HSM to further enhance the value of the rights it purchases, working in close collaboration with songwriters, artists and producers.
SONG is expected to benefit from Blackstone’s investment in HSM’s management capabilities and will have the right to co-invest in future catalogue acquisitions alongside the new Blackstone–HSM partnership.
Andrew Sutch, Chairman of SONG said : “Our Investment Adviser, Hipgnosis Song Management’s, new partnership with Blackstone highlights how successfully Merck has established songs and music rights as an asset class since founding and listing SONG three years ago. This new partnership will provide new co-investment opportunities for SONG, and we expect that continued investment in Hipgnosis Song Management will enhance returns for our investors.”
Blackstone was advised on the transaction by Goldman Sachs, FTI, Kirkland & Ellis and Deloitte. Hipgnosis Song Management was advised by RBC, Capstan Capital Partners and Stephenson Harwood.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $684 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com . Follow Blackstone on Twitter@Blackstone .
About Hipgnosis Song Management Ltd
Hipgnosis Song Management Ltd, formerly The Family (Music) Ltd is the Investment Advisor for Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd (SONG). Both were founded by Merck Mercuriadis, former manager of globally successful recording artists, such as Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Morrissey, Iron Maiden and Beyoncé, and hit songwriters such as Diane Warren, Justin Tranter and The-Dream. The Investment Adviser has assembled an Advisory Board of highly successful music industry experts which include award winning members of the artist, songwriter, publishing, legal, financial, recorded music and music management communities, all with in-depth knowledge of music publishing. Members of Hipgnosis Song Management Ltd Advisory Board include Nile Rodgers, The-Dream, Giorgio Tuinfort, Starrah, David A. Stewart, Poo Bear, Bill Leibowitz, Ian Montone and Rodney Jerkins.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211012005592/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Cyclic Materials Secures USD $75M Series C Funding to Fast-Track Local and Resilient Rare Earths Supply at Global Scale23.1.2026 13:00:00 CET | Press release
New equity investment will accelerate deployment of resilient, locally anchored rare earths recycling infrastructure enabling new streams of heavy rare earths supply for AI, robotics, defense and advanced manufacturing critical to the future of Western industry Cyclic Materials today announced it has closed an over-subscribed USD $75 million Series C equity round, its largest to date, scaling up operations across the US and Europe and accelerating Canada-based research and development footprint. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260123519008/en/ Cyclic Materials’ Mesa, Arizona site, the very first scale-up of a commercial plant for recycling and local production of rare earths in the US, with a focus on heavy and light rare earth magnets. The recycling of magnet-containing end-of-life (EOL) scrap and magnet production waste is the fastest way to the production of magnet rare earth elements (REEs) in Western coun
SLB Announces Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results, Increases Dividend and Commits to Return More Than $4 Billion to Shareholders in 202623.1.2026 12:50:00 CET | Press release
Fourth-quarter revenue of $9.75 billion increased 9% sequentially and 5% year on year Fourth-quarter GAAP EPS of $0.55 increased 10% sequentially and decreased 29% year on year Fourth-quarter EPS, excluding charges and credits, of $0.78 increased 13% sequentially and declined 15% year on year Fourth-quarter net income attributable to SLB of $824 million increased 12% sequentially and decreased 25% year on year Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $2.33 billion increased 13% sequentially and decreased 2% year on year Fourth-quarter cash flow from operations was $3.01 billion and free cash flow was $2.29 billion Board approved a 3.5% increase in quarterly cash dividend to $0.295 per share Full-year revenue of $35.71 billion decreased 2% year on year Full-year GAAP EPS of $2.35 decreased 24% year on year Full-year EPS, excluding charges and credits, of $2.93 decreased 14% year on year Full-year net income attributable to SLB of $3.37 billion decreased 24% year on year Full-year adjusted EBIT
“And I Chose to Live” The Blind Sailor Mitsuhiro Iwamoto Takes the Stage at WEF23.1.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
- “HIRO’s CHOICE”: A Solo, Non-Stop Crossing of the Pacific Ocean- Mitsuhiro Iwamoto, a blind Japanese sailor based in San Diego, delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 on January 21 (local time). He is undertaking the world’s first solo, non-stop trans-Pacific crossing by a blind person as part of the “Blind Sailor Single-Handed Pacific Crossing Project 2027.” WEF URL: https://www.weforum.org/ This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260121469502/en/ Hiro Iwamoto / Global Keynote Speaker, First Totally Blind Sailor to Cross the Pacific In the spring of 2027, he will attempt a solo, non-stop trans-Pacific crossing, sailing a 28-foot yacht single-handedly from San Diego on the U.S. West Coast to Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, without making any port calls. Project URL: https://hiros-choice.com/ The theme of his speech was “Sailing Through Barriers.” He spoke about how, since losing his
BitGo Holdings fejrer sin børsnotering på New York Stock Exchange23.1.2026 03:52:00 CET | Pressemeddelelse
BitGo Holdings, Inc. ("BitGo", "virksomheden", "vi"), en virksomhed inden for digital infrastruktur til aktiver, fejrer i dag sin lancering på New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") som et børsnoteret selskab under tickersymbolet "BTGO". Medlemmer af BitGos ledelsesteam vil i dag kl. 09:30 ET ringe med åbningsklokken på NYSE. "I dag markerer et afgørende øjeblik for BitGo," udtaler Mike Belshe, administrerende direktør og medstifter af BitGo. "Vores indtræden på de offentlige markeder vil gøre det muligt for os yderligere at accelerere det finansielle systems overgang til en gennemsigtig og troværdig digital aktivøkonomi, samtidig med at vi fortsat kan levere enestående sikkerheds-, depot- og likviditetsløsninger til vores kunder. Vi er overbeviste om, at potentialet forude er stort, og at vi er unikt positioneret til at hjælpe institutioner med at gå fremtiden i møde." Belshe fortsætter: "Jeg er utroligt stolt af den virksomhed, vi har opbygget, og dybt taknemmelig for vores teams hårde arb
Tinaba with Banca Profilo Strengthens Its Global Positioning and Launches Digital Payments in the Chinese Mainland with Alipay+23.1.2026 02:41:00 CET | Press release
Through the “Pay Worldwide with Alipay+” feature available in the App, users can pay in the Chinese mainland at over 80 million merchants Tinaba with Banca Profilo announces the launch of digital payments in the Chinese mainland through the extension of its strategic partnership with Alipay+, Ant International’s global wallet gateway solution, bringing a simple, cashless and local payment experience to Italian travellers in the world’s largest digital market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260122062969/en/ Matteo Arpe, President of Tinaba with Banca Profilo, announces the expanded partnership with Alipay+ in Milan, Italy Starting today, users can pay in the Chinese mainland at over 80 million merchants simply by scanning a QR code directly from the Tinaba App. This innovation is particularly significant in a country where digital payments are the everyday standard and cash is increasingly less used. The servi
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom