Hipgnosis agrees $465m catalogue sale from public trust to private Blackstone vehicle

Both the publicly-listed vehicle (SONG) and the private $1bn Blackstone vehicle (Hipgnosis Songs Capital) are advised by the Merck Mercuriadis-run Hipgnosis Song Management. In a stock exchange notice today (14 September), the board outlined several proposals it believes will act as a catalyst for re-rating the £1.1bn trust's share price. These include catalogue sales for aggregate gross consideration of $465m, a share buyback programme of up to $180m, the repayment of $250m drawn under the trust's revolving credit facility and the introduction of additional, lower investment advisory...