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14
April 2006
Michael
Jackson Agrees Loan
Deal
Pop
star Michael
Jackson
has reached an agreement
with music giant Sony to
help ease his money
worries.
Michael
Jackson had been due to
pay back $200m
(£114m) in loans in
December 2006, which
were secured on the
Beatles back catalogue,
jointly owned with
Sony.
A
statement issued in
Bahrain by Michael
Jackson adviser Grahame
Nelson said the singer
"has restructured his
finances with the
assistance of
Sony".
He
has lived in Bahrain
since being cleared of
child abuse charges in
June 2005.
"Following
negotiations with
several leading
financial institutions,
Mr Jackson has concluded
refinancing with
affiliates of Fortress
Investment Group, the
lender that currently
holds secured debts that
were previously held by
Bank of America," the
statement
added.
Fortress
was due to gain
Jackson's share in
Sony/ATV if he defaulted
on the loans.
Last
month the house on
Jackson's Neverland
ranch in California was
closed to cut costs,
while during his child
abuse trial prosecutors
claimed he was a
"spendaholic" with "a
billionaire spending
habit for only a
millionaire's spending
budget".
No
further details of the
refinancing agreement
were available, although
the Wall Street Journal
and New
York
Times
reported that the deal
would ultimately see
Jackson sell half of his
50% share in the
catalogue to Sony,
leaving him with just
25% of it.
The
Sony/ATV catalogue is
thought to be worth $1
billion (£571
million).
As
well as 200 Beatles
songs, it includes songs
such as Bob Dylan's
Blowin' In The Wind and
the works of Joni
Mitchell and Stevie
Nicks.
The
Beatles rights passed to
British showbiz mogul
Lew Grade's ATV company
in 1969 when it bought
publisher Northern
Songs.
Ownership
of ATV eventually passed
to Australian tycoon
Robert Holmes a Court,
who sold it to Jackson
in 1985 for $47.5m. Ten
years later, Jackson cut
his stake in the
catalogue to 50% when it
was merged with Sony's
music publishing
arm.
Michael
Jackson also has a 50%
stake in new songs added
to the
collection.
The
Beatles rights are now
thought to account for
two-thirds of the
collection's
value.
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