Sony, Estate of Michael Jackson Complete Sony/ATV Pact

Sony Corp. and the estate of pop star Michael Jackson have reached a definitive agreement for a previously announced deal that will give Sony complete ownership of Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.

In March, Sony said it planned to buy the estate's 50% stake, and said a memorandum of understanding called for payments of $750 million, including a lump-sum payment of about $733 million by Sony.

Sony/ATV is the world's largest music-publishing company. Sony and Mr. Jackson—and since his 2009 death, his estate—have jointly owned the company since 1995.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Sony and the estate were in talks after Sony triggered a clause that allowed either party to buy out the other.

Sony/ATV's catalog includes the copyrights to most of the Beatles' songs, as well as songs by stars including Marvin Gaye, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift.

Mr. Jackson's estate said in March that the transaction won't affect its "substantial interests in other music assets," including all of Mr. Jackson's master recordings and Mijac Music, the publishing company that owns all of the songs he wrote and certain other songs he acquired.

The estate will also retain its interest in EMI Music Publishing.

Sony said in March that the transaction was a sign of its commitment to its entertainment businesses.

On Monday, the company said it is still evaluating the deal's financial impact for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017.

After a restructuring led by Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai , Sony has reduced its exposure to troubled consumer-electronics businesses such as television sets.

Hannah Karp contributed to this article.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2016 18:15 ET (22:15 GMT)

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