As you may recall, last October Sony triggered the “buy-sell” clause in the partnership agreement which provides for one partner to buy out the share of the other at the highest possible price. As has now been announced, the Estate and Sony have signed a memorandum of understanding for Sony to purchase the Estate’s interest in Sony/ATV. A copy of the official press release is also being sent to you. In the intervening months, we explored several options that would have positioned the Estate as the buyer, rather than Sony, and we had substantial interest from potential partners to work with us in doing so. Ultimately, however, Sony’s offer was in the best interest of Michael’s children and we made the difficult decision to accept that offer. The arrangements will further secure the financial future of Michael’s heirs. The amount that Sony is paying, $750 million, is a substantial premium on the Estate’s interest in the company after taking into account the debt of the company, the Purchase Option and other adjustments required under the partnership agreement. It is also a huge testament to Michael’s business acumen that his original investment appreciated so substantially over the last 30 years.

There are several reasons that led to our decision. We will use a portion of the proceeds to repay the loan balance on monies borrowed by Michael and secured by his interest in Sony/ATV which means that after starting with more than $500 million in debt seven years ago, the Estate is now completely debt free with substantial assets in cash and other property. The balance of the proceeds from this sale, after taxes, fees and expenses, will be held by the Estate and ultimately will be transferred to a trust for the benefit of Michael’s beneficiaries. Furthermore, the transaction allows the Estate to diversify assets which, to date, have been highly concentrated in music intellectual property.

SONY CORP. OF AMERICA ("SCA") has signed a binding memorandum of understanding ("MOU") to obtain full ownership of SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC ("SONY/ATV") by acquiring the 50% interest in SONY/ATV held by the Estate of MICHAEL JACKSON. SCA will pay the Estate $750 million, which includes a lump sum payment by SCA of approximately $733 million as well as distributions previously committed to by SONY/ATV to be paid to the Estate.  

The sale is the culmination of a process that began in SEPTEMBER 2015 when SONY exercised a right that has existed since the joint venture was formed by MICHAEL JACKSON and SONY in 1995. This right allows for one partner to purchase the other partner's interest pursuant to a procedure outlined in the SONY/ATV operating agreement.