Los Angeles – Michael Jackson’s advisers scrambled to cut a deal Monday to halt a $272 million foreclosure that would strip the pop star of his share of the Sony Beatles music catalog and, possibly, his cherished Neverland Ranch.
As the New York-based Fortress Investments Group prepared to seize the pop star’s assets today to cover his unpaid debt, his aides burned up phone lines pleading for a six-month extension, sources said.
“There are discussions under way to stop the foreclosure. An extension is likely to be granted,” said a source familiar with Jackson’s business troubles.
The deal would involve “several” benefactors agreeing to make the monthly payments on Jackson’s $272 million loan package at a 9.5 percent interest rate – which comes to more than $2 million a month.
If a payment plan can be arranged, Fortress might be willing to hold onto the loans for another six months because the 9.5 percent rate would beat current stock market returns, the business source said.
Jackson, staying overseas since last summer, has refused to talk to concerned family members trying to resolve the problem, sources said. Family members aren’t even sure where he is, a family source said.
