People News

Jackson faces new court fight

Jul 12, 2005, 17:51 GMT

Los Angeles - Michael Jackson is facing a new court fight after a financial firm sued him for 48 million dollars, according to news reports Tuesday.

Prescient Acquisition Group Inc. claimed that it had secured 537 million dollars in financing earlier this year so that Jackson could pay off a 272 million dollar debt to Bank of America after he had put up his Beatles and Elvis song catalogs up as collateral.

The refinancing also gave him the option to buy the remaining 50 percent of the Beatles library he didn't already own.

Prescient said that Jackson was in breach of contract for failing to pay a commission after the financing was secured.

The company asked for an immediate payment of 28 million dollars, which represents a 9 per cent commission on the financing already used, plus a 3.3 million dollar advance that it gave Jackson and his company.

Jackson, 46, was acquitted of all charges in his child molestation case last month. He bought the Beatles catalog for 47.5 million dollars in 1985 and it is now the cornerstone of his financial holdings.