Nearly $1 billion for Michael Jackson’s music catalog?

Sony and a possible financial partner want to buy half of Michael Jackson’s music catalogue. The company is willing to pay $800 million to $900 million for it, Variety reported, citing three anonymous sources.

Negotiations are underway with Jackson’s executors to take 50% of the proceeds from the sales of Jackson’s recordings, publishing, Broadway show MJ: The Musical and upcoming biopic Michael. Further details are still unclear. The parties involved have not yet commented on the deal.

If the purchase goes through, it would be the biggest deal in the music catalog market to date. For Sony, it would not be the first major takeover – the group had bought the rights to Bruce Springsteen’s catalogs for around 600 million dollars, Bob Dylan’s for around 150 to 200 million dollars.

Sony managed Jackson’s music catalog during the final years of his career with the Jackson 5 and throughout his solo career. Since his death in 2009, his estate has been in the hands of his attorney, John Branca. Jackson’s musical legacy is considered one of the most lucrative – “Thriller” is one of the best-selling albums to date and has been certified 30x platinum.

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