Michael Jackson's Estate Sale

Jackson's debt may force a quick sale of his prized asset: rights to the Beatles catalog

Michael Jackson died just before heading to the U.K., where a 50-concert schedule would have done much more than launch a musical comeback tour.

Proceeds from the concerts would have chipped away at nearly half a billion dollars in personal debt.

Creditors allowed Jackson to dig himself into such a hole because of the cash cow he put up as collateral: his 50% interest in a music publishing catalog that includes 250 Beatles songs and hundreds of thousands of other works.

Now, if those same creditors push the Jackson estate for quick payment, they could force a distressed sale of his interest in the catalog.

The King of Pop blew the profits from sales of 750 million records on extravagances ranging from $10,000-a-night hotel stays to the construction and upkeep of his $50 million Neverland Ranch.

But Jackson made one brilliant financial move--shelling out $47.5 million in 1985 to buy the publishing catalog. Ten years later, Sony ( SNE - news - people ) paid Jackson $90 million for half the rights, forming a joint venture called Sony/ATV. Today, it's worth far more.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/26/michael-jackson-beatles-business-media-estate.html?feed=rss_business_media