Hipgnosis chief hits out at song owner’s fading share price
The boss of 50 Cent to Barry Manilow song catalogue owner Hipgnosis has railed against the firm’s dwindling share price despite the popularity of hit songs including Mariah Carey’s festive chart-topper All I Want for Christmas is You.
The music investment business has seen its market cap sink 35% since January to £1 billion, despite owning a portfolio of over 65,000 songs with a combined market value of £2.2 billion.
Hipgnosis founder and CEO Merck Mercuriadis said: “I share the disappointment of shareholders that the true value of our iconic songs is not being reflected in today’s share price.
“Hipgnosis is an asset based company with a catalogue unrivalled for its extraordinary success and cultural importance. The current share price implies that our Company is valued using a 12% discount rate…this is a deep discount compared to multiples currently being paid in the market.”
The firm’s earnings increased 17% to $63.8 million (£52.4 million) in the six months to end September.
In November, nine Hipgnosis-owned songs appeared on the Official Chart Company’s list of most streamed songs released in each of the last 70 years, including Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, and Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On a Prayer.
