
Michael Jackson may be in the money again from concert ticket sales in London but his Neverland Ranch is still going to be sold.
Last fall Jackson and Colony Capital became partners in the ranch, with Colony holding a $23.5 million note. Neverland Ranch’s name was changed and it is now called Sycamore Valley. Michael received several million dollars in refinancing and Colony also added its name to the lease.
Well it seems that new buyers are interested in the property. It’s a lucrative offer where they’d pay back Colony in full as well as Michael with several million dollars.
There is a snag though. The new buyers had wanted the estate complete with all of its original artifacts but with the upcoming auction that is scheduled for April 21-25 that creates a problem. Catalogs have already been printed. Next week in New York Julien’s Auction house is planning to exhibit some of the items in the auction.
It’s estimated the auction could bring in somewhere between $10 million and $20 million. Jackson has already publicly promised a portion of the proceeds to the charity MusiCares, which is part of the National Academy for the Recording Arts, or NARAS, the organization that organizes the Grammy Awards. MusiCares helps indigent musicians.
As it stands now, April 3rd has been set as the court date where both sides will argue their positions about the auction. If the proposed Neverland buyers haven’t come to an agreement with Julien’s to sell them the contents of the ranch or reach a settlement with the auction house and give Jackson’s contents back to him, a judge will probably rule that the auction can proceed.
Julien’s Auction House has a signed agreement with Jackson’s MJJ Productions and Tohme Tohme, Michael’s manager dated August 7, 2008. This was signed eight months before Jackson agreed to put tickets on sale for concerts.
The contract states:
Consigned property: All movable and removable personal property located at Neverland Ranch that we take possession of, and any other property that you might choose to deliver to us.”
Paragraph 10 of the agreement entitled “Withdrawl” [sic] states “You may not withdraw your Property from sale after the date upon which you sign this Agreement or Consignment Receipt, whichever is earlier.”
Julien’s Auction House’s lawyers want to question Tohme and a business partner, James R. Weller, some time this week.
Should be interesting!
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