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REUTERS
New York, Dec 4: The US pop star, Michael Jackson, plans to sell royalties generated by the Beatles, Bob Dylan and other musicians, sources said on Thursday.
Jackson, whose falsettos are punctuated by James Brown-like gyrations and a trademark ``Moonwalk'' perambulation with a singular white glove, follows on the heels of another pop icon -- David Bowie -- who sold music royalties with the help of Wall Street bankers.
But unlike Bowie, who sold his own music catalog, Jackson will sell song royalties of other entertainers owned by a joint venture, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, that he formed three years ago with Sony Corp. of America.
Music royalties generated by that catalog would be pooled and used as collateral for a bond offering in excess of $100 million, according to sources familiar with the expected Jackson deal. ``Sony and Jackson would do the deal together. It's a multi-artist deal,'' one source close to the deal said.
Sony/ATV Music owns and administers Sony Music Publishing's copyrights andJackson's publishing catalog. The singer's own compositions are excluded from the joint venture.
The catalog of music owned by Jackson and Sony includes 251 Beatles songs such as ``Yesterday'' ``Hey Jude''; and ``Hard Day's Night''. The stable of other artists in the catalog include Oasis, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Pearl Jam and Leonard Cohen.
Sources said the so-called asset-backed transaction could come to market before the end of the year.
Bowie raised $55 million last year by selling asset-backed bonds, which similarly were created by pooling royalties and using them to back the debt sold to investors.
This type of bond offering, taking income streams from royalties or expected ticket receipts, has become more popular in recent years as entertainment companies seek cheaper financing for their projects.
Jackson may have plans to use proceeds from the asset-backed transaction for his own investments. ``If such a deal is cut, it would be done to expand his own investmentportfolio,'' said Bob Jones, head of media relations for Jackson's MJJ Productions.
As the market for these bonds hots up, the Pullman Group, based in New York, announced plans just this week to sell royalties generated by songs written by rhythm and blues duo Ashford and Simpson.
While the impending Jackson deal has Wall Street rife with speculation, no specific offering details have been presented to investors, sources said.
The transaction was expected to be sold in a private placement to an institutional investor such as an insurance company, the source familiar with the deal said.
The bankers creating these types of bond deals have employed methodology used in the US mortgage securities market where monthly home loan payments are channeled into large bond issues that enable lenders to finance mortgages.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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