MORE ABOUT MERCK'S MONEY

Hipgnosis/The Family (Music) Limited, fresh off announcing its deal for Timbaland's catalog, is announcing the raising of "total gross proceeds" of £231m as a result of its share issue.

We're talking 231k C Shares, placed by Nplus1 Singer Advisory LLP and J.P. Morgan Securities plc at—you guessed it—a price of 100 pence per share. More details here.

“I am delighted by the strong response to this issue both from our existing shareholders and new investors," declared company chieftain Merck Mercuriadis. "Having raised £231 million today and over £625 million since our IPO a little over a year ago, Hipgnosis has been one of the biggest fund launches on the London market in recent times, with more capital raised over the last six months than any other London listed fund. This is a demonstration of the financial community recognising the true value of music and proven songs. They are the currency that makes the world go round. They are predictable and reliable and they are better than gold or oil. We have lined up the finest available song catalogues and will be deploying immediately.”

To prove his thesis, Mercuriadis then pumped five gallons of unleaded show tunes into his Impala.