Who’s the guy responsible for the $3 billion worth of fat paydays songwriters have been receiving over the past few years? It’s Merck Mercuriadis, CEO of the Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which has upended the traditional music publishing industry by spending that incredible amount buying the rights to some 65,000 songs, including the catalogs of top artists like Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Neil Young, Barry Manilow and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Mercuriadis, a former music manager, has now taken his brazen dealmaking prowess to Los Angeles, splashing out $12 million on a newly revamped mansion sequestered way high up in the Hollywood Hills. First listed at $15 million last summer, the 11,000-square-foot house sits behind big gates and an unusually long driveway on a 1.5-acre knoll.
Originally a Mediterranean-style villa, the circa-1990s home last transferred in a 2017 bankruptcy sale. The fixer-upper property was acquired for $5 million by a developer who subsequently rebuilt the house as a contemporary structure, complete with walls of glass, soaring ceilings and an open-concept floorplan.
Highlights include a double-height living room that spills out to the backyard via sliding glass doors, and a striking floor-to-ceiling fireplace sheathed in black marble imported from Tunisia. There’s also a “floating” staircase that ascends upstairs, where the master suite is located and kitted out with more floor-to-ceiling glass walls, spectacular canyon views, dual walk-in closets and a marble bathroom.
All five additional bedrooms feature ensuite baths, and there’s also an office, gym, screening room, gourmet kitchen, wine cellar and wet bar on the premises. Outside lies a fan-shaped swimming pool, which is infinity-edged for maximum view drama. The mostly flat backyard also flaunts a very large swath of grassy lawn — an rare find in these tightly-packed hills — plus multiple outdoor dining terraces, a grove of mature oak trees and a roomy motorcourt fronting the home’s four-car garage.
Long based in London, Mercuriadis and his longtime wife Sue have been spending more time stateside over the past couple of years. Late last year, the 59-year-old put his palatial Miami penthouse — complete with a private rooftop pool and 10,000 square feet of living space — on the market, asking $15 million. Acquired by Mercuriadis just last spring for $12 million, that Brickell condo remains available at a reduced $13 million ask.
Bennett Hirsch and Nick Sandler of The Agency held the listing; Marcy Roth and Fredrik Eklund of Douglas Elliman repped the buyer.