Last November, the Estate of Michael Jackson asked permission to the court to go ahead with a secret transaction.
The court documents are sealed and non of us know what this is about but speculations point out to the selling of Michael’s catalogue.
Last month, Katherine Jackson filled an objection to the transaction in question.
Now the Estate led by John Branca, is asking the court to dismiss Katherine’s objections to the proposed transaction and to move forward with the deal in question.
In their motion, the estate lays out how they turned Michael’s estate around. Branca and McClain said when they took over the pop star was drowning in debt.
“The Estate was teetering on the verge of collapse, with more than $400 million in debt that encumbered Michael’s most significant assets and little or no liquidity or means to service that debt. Through creative thinking, hard work and business savvy—and, of course, Michael’s extraordinary creative legacy—the Executors transformed the MJJ Business into a profitable enterprise,” the motion reads.
The executors pointed out they have been incredibly successful over the past 14 years in charge. “Desperate for creative opportunities to generate income and stave off foreclosures, the Executors negotiated a unique deal to co-produce the film This Is It with AEG using rehearsal footage from the farewell tour of the same name that Michael was preparing for when he passed,” the estate said.
They said despite negotiating extraordinarily favorable terms for the Estate, Katherine objected to the proposed transaction. The court eventually allowed the executors to move forward despite the objection.
Branca and McClain point out the film became the highest-grossing documentary/concert film of all time, “and the income, public interest, and reputational boost it generated for the Estate paved the way for the Executors’ many successes since.”
The executors said their work has provided, “provided the Beneficiaries financial security and freedom.” Branca and McClain used Katherine’s past objection as a reason to not be swayed by her current objection.
The estate said none of Michael’s children have raised issues with the deal. The executors argue Katherine should not be allowed to prevent the three beneficiaries from benefiting from the deal and they said that Katherine’s objections are “misplaced”.
The court has not yet ruled on this dispute and for sure, like me, you are a bit confused to what’s going on and what is this transaction. But if the court rules in favour of the Estate, we will see that deal to come to light.
To be continued…
