Sanctuary Group, the troubled music company that manages Elton John, has agreed to be taken over by Centenary Music in a deal that values it at about £44.5m.

Centenary, a subsidiary of Vivendi-owned Universal, has offered 20p a share in cash, representing a premium of about 77.8 per cent to the closing price of 11¼p a share on May 17, the last business day prior to Sanctuary’s announcement that it had received approaches.