Hipgnosis has accepted a $1.57bn (£1.4bn) acquisition offer from Blackstone, after a takeover battle ensued between the American investment firm and Concord Chorus.

Blackstone’s offer is valued at $1.30 (£1.04) per share, $0.05 (£0.04) higher per share than Concord’s offer, which was made almost two weeks ago.

As a result of the acquisition, more than 65,000 songs, including tracks by Shakira, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blondie, will be moved into Blackstone’s song portfolio.

Blackstone is already a majority shareholder in Hipgnosis’ investment adviser, HSM, which manages artists and songwriters for the fund.

Chair at Hipgnosis, Robert Naylor, said: "The board is pleased to unanimously recommend this $1.6bn offer for Hipgnosis from Blackstone. Since we started our strategic review, we have been clearly focused on looking at all the options to deliver shareholder value. We are delighted that, following competitive interests in acquiring Hipgnosis, our investors now have a chance to immediately realise their holding at an increased premium."

Following the deal, Reuters reported that shares at Hipgnosis increased by 2.7% to £1.06.

Senior managing director at Blackstone, Qasim Abbas, added: "Our offer price, which has been unanimously recommended by the Board, represents a significant premium to the unaffected share price and allows shareholders to realise immediate and attractive value for their shareholding. The offer is the result of extensive discussion and negotiations with the Board and provides shareholders the certainty of cash today.

"Blackstone is a long-term investor with deep experience of investing across the media and entertainment sectors, including in music rights. The breadth of the Blackstone platform, combined with our operational expertise, will support and enhance the value of the acquired rights."

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, added: "Its takeover situation is playing out like an extended 12” mega-mix of one of its artists, jumping back and forth between suitors Concord and Blackstone as they raise their offers.

"Both parties clearly want to be victorious and the investment trust’s board seem happy to switch allegiance to whichever is offering the most money. Ultimately, the winner could be the one with the biggest chequebook. Long-suffering investors will welcome any extra boost to the takeout price they can get."

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