Why Wait for a Sale? Major Hipgnosis Investors Are Cashing In Amid Share-Value Surge
Hipgnosis stock sales are being reported by major stakeholders amid a surging share price, itself the result of a much-publicized bidding war. Photo Credit: David Vincent
Why wait for a buyout deal to wrap? As Hipgnosis Songs Fund (LON: SONG) stock continues to ride high following Blackstoneâs almost $1.6 billion bid, several key investors are opting to offload their shares. DMN covered the first of these sales, now making a media splash in the absence of flashy headlines concerning the Hipgnosis bidding war itself, weeks ago. As we noted on April 25th, for instance, CCLA Investment Management had agreed to part with its almost 58 million shares under a deal with Concord.
That was, of course, before the Hipgnosis Song Management majority owner Blackstone came back with its $1.57 billion counteroffer on April 29th. Also as we reported prior to the improved bid, J O Hambro Capital Management, previously the owner of 20.45 million Hipgnosis shares, sold 10.06 million of these shares soon before the 26th. Then, between the 27th and the 29th, J O Hambro cashed in on another 2.87 million SONG shares.
Not stopping there, May 2nd saw J O Hambro reveal the sale of 1.25 million additional shares; yesterday, the London-based investment house said it had sold 750,000 more shares.
Closer to Mayâs start, a major selloff was disclosed by Rathbones Investment Management, which decreased its Hipgnosis stake from over nine percent of the company to less than one percent. Bank of Americaâs own cumulative voting rights in Hipgnosis Songs Fund fell from almost seven percent to about 1.8 percent, regulatory disclosures show.
Notwithstanding these sizable sales, SONG is holding strong, as initially mentioned.When trading wrapped today, shares were worth $1.31 (just under ÂŁ1.05) apiece, reflecting an approximately 20 percent boost from early May of 2023 and a nearly 81 percent hike from early March of this year. (Nevertheless, SONG hasnât returned to the $1.62/ÂŁ1.30 or so that it touched at its late-2021 peak, possibly explaining why many are holding out for a higher price yet.)
Needless to say, that steady value appears to imply continued investor confidence in where SONG is going. Moving forward, itâll be especially interesting to see how this possible conclusion to the Hipgnosis saga plays out.
Also worth bearing in mind is the multifaceted situationâs relatively seldom-discussed litigation; the various Hipgnosis entities are being sued by the liquidators of a long-defunct company of the same name. That shuttered business still technically counts as a director Merck Mercuriadis, HSFâs board pointed out at what was presumably the height of the battle over the songs fundâs future.
