The Hipgnosis Songs Fund board has not received any better offer as part of its go-shop process following the $440m (£359m) bid for a fifth of its portfolio from Blackstone.
In a stock exchange announcement this morning (24 October), the board of the £897m music royalty trust revealed it was in contact with 17 different parties at the beginning of the process and had signed non-disclosure agreements with eight of them.
However, the board said it had received feedback through the process that many suitors “could not justify” paying a higher price than the offer from Hipgnosis Songs Capital – a Blackstone-owned private vehicle.
See also: Hipgnosis Songs scraps dividend after hit to expected royalty payments
Hipgnosis shareholders will vote on both the sale and on continuation at an AGM and EGM on 26 October.
Ahead of the votes, the board announced a strategic review last week (19 October) as it seeks to address shareholder concerns.
As of 10am this morning, the trust’s share price had fallen 3% since the start of trading.
See also: AVI urges Hipgnosis shareholders to vote against ‘truly dreadful’ proposed portfolio sale
