Helter Skelter Agents Go Universal

Unless there’s a surprise late counterbid in the next couple of days, the key agents at London’s Helter Skelter will soon be working for Universal Music Group.

The Vivendi-owned music company’s June 15 offer of 20 pence per share for the UK’s Sanctuary Group, Helter Skelter’s parent, was conditional on it being accepted before July 26.

As around 40 percent of the British company’s shareholders are believed to have already either sold or given undertakings to sell their stock to the world’s biggest music company, Universal may not even have to go through the hassle of extending the offer period.

A counterbid from the AIM-listed Silk Route Investments, a consortium led and advised by Crosby Capital Partners, was reported in the June 16 editions of the UK’s the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph, but looked to have fizzled out when the Hong Kong-based investment and asset management outfit put its two percent plus Sanctuary holding on the market. Universal bought it.

At close of business July 24 the Sanctuary share price was flat at 19.75 pence, a tad below Universal’s offer and a clear indication that the London Stock Exchange didn’t think it was worth speculating on a higher bid coming in.

The only last-minute piece of Sanctuary horse-trading looks to have been the £800,000 disposal of its 49 percent stake in the loss-making Rough Trade Records to Martin Mills’ Beggars Group.

A Sanctuary spokesperson at Brunswick PR, which has handled the music group’s business public relations since a cost-cutting exercise saw off its own communications department, told Pollstar he wasn’t aware of any ongoing talks regarding Agency Group chief Neil Warnock’s interest in Helter Skelter.

Warnock has consistently declined to comment on whether he actually made an offer for Helter Skelter, but Sanctuary – possibly hoping the news may flush out another one or two bids – confirmed it had received one.

Brunswick said the offer was knocked back because it didn’t match up to Sanctuary’s valuation of the company.

It seems the hiving off of Rough Trade and the earlier sale of the Air Edel studios business to Cutting Edge Music for £497,958 (US$ 988,000) may be the last cuts that Sanctuary chairman Bob Ayling and chief exec Frank Presland will be making on behalf of the existing Sanctuary.

At press time, it wasn’t possible to get a view on who will be heading the company if Universal buys it.

The fact Helter Skelter hasn’t been sold will increase speculation that Universal, like Sanctuary in its early days, is trying to turn itself into a 360 degree business model and sees owning one of the UK’s major agencies as being a very big foot in the door.

Forty-eight hours before the Universal offer deadline, Helter Skelter’s senior agents – Pete Nash, Paul Franklin, Paul Bolton, Nigel Hassler and Adam Saunders – responded to Pollstar questions about their future with an ad hoc statement saying, "We can’t comment until after the deal is done. There’s no point in talking about it until then."