The U.K.-listed investment firm, run by Canadian music executive Merck Mercuriadis, will sell 29 of its music catalogues to a Blackstone-owned sister fund. The sale will go towards financing a share buyback program of up to US$180 million and help the firm repay US$250 million of debt. (The Logic)

Talking point: Hipgnosis—whose portfolio includes royalties of Neil Young, Nirvana, Justin Bieber and Dua Lipa content—is facing a shareholder vote next month over whether to liquidate the fund or continue for five more years. The company was a major player in the music acquisition spree that took off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite growing revenues from streaming sales, Hipgnosis’s stock price has suffered. The company’s market cap based on its stock price was less than half the value of its assets as of July, leaving it unable to raise equity to buy new song rights. The sale—which still needs shareholder approval—represents a 17.5 per cent discount on the assets, which include songs by Nelly, Shakira and Rick James.