SamboraBlog

MICHAEL JACKSON, the one-time pop-music king who has endured a lengthy slide toward insolvency, is close to a deal that would keep him from bankruptcy by refinancing hundreds of millions of dollars in loans.

As part of the transaction, Jackson will agree to give up part of a prized asset - a vast song catalogue that includes Beatles hits - to the Sony Corporation, sources briefed on the plan said.

Jackson, who spent years racking up debts to underwrite his lifestyle as his music career faded, has appeared to teeter on the brink of ruin several times in recent years. Last month, he all but closed his sprawling ranch, Neverland, after Californian authorities threatened to sue over unpaid wages to his former employees.

Sources said Jackson used his stake in the catalogue, which has 4000 songs, as part of the collateral for about $US270 million ($A370 million) in loans from Bank of America.

The bank sold the loans last year to Fortress Investment Group, a New York investment company that buys distressed debt. The entire catalogue, of which Jackson owns 50 per cent, has been valued at $1 billion.

Aside from more than 200 Beatles songs, it includes Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan and Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. It includes the works of songwriters Stevie Nicks, Sarah McLachlan, Destiny's Child, Garth Brooks and Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi. Jackson paid $US47.5 million in 1985 to acquire the catalogue from the owner of Associated TeleVision, the Australian tycoon Robert Holmes a Court.

As part of the agreement, Fortress agreed to provide a new $US300 million loan and reduce Jackson's interest payments.

Sony and Fortress representatives have declined to comment on the deal. A representative for Jackson did not return calls.

But executives involved said the deal was struck after months of talks that spanned the globe, with meetings from Los Angeles to New York to London to Bahrain, where Jackson has been living as a guest of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son.