Speculation that the stake the Michael Jackson estate holds in Sony/ATV Publishing might be sold to help pay down the nearly half a billion dollars in debt the reportedly singer left behind appear to be unfounded, according to a story by Bloomberg.  A lucrative portion of that holding includes some 250 Beatles songs Jackson acquired the rights to for close to $50 million in 1985.  Sony/ATV also holds rights to titles from Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley and is estimated to have an overall value in the range of $1.5 - $2 billion, making the amount the Jackson estate stood to receive if it had elected to sell enough to more than cover the remainder of the debt it is believed to hold.  The estate has collected considerable income since the singer's death a year ago, and retaining the Sony/ATV holding may put it in a better position to get approval on an expected bid to refinance a $300 million dollar loan due in 2010.
BusinessWeek.com

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