December 16, 2004
Impresario Pays $100 Million for Elvis Presley Estate
The Elvis Presley estate is getting all shook up.
Impresario Robert F.X. Sillerman said on Thursday he agreed to buy 85 percent of Presley's estate, including rights to the singer's name and the management of his famed Graceland mansion, in a deal worth $100 million.
Sillerman, who founded and later sold radio operator SFX Broadcasting and concert promoter SFX Entertainment, will acquire the stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises from Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. He called Elvis, famed as the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" the "most significant icon in American pop culture."
As well as running Graceland, Presley's home in Memphis, Tennessee, Sillerman will own his name and likeness, the rights to his photographs and revenue from his music, TV shows and films such as "Jailhouse Rock."
The title to Graceland and its surrounding property, including most of Presley's personal effects, will remain with Lisa Marie Presley. Graceland's visitor complex and "Heartbreak Hotel" across the street will be sold.
Presley, who died at Graceland in 1977, starred in 31 films and has sold over a billion records. More than 600,000 people visit Graceland each year. Elvis Presley Enterprises generated $45 million in revenue in 2003 and $38 million in the first three quarters of this year.
Sillerman said in a statement he would pay $53 million in cash, assume $25 million of Elvis Presley Enterprises debt and pay the balance in shares.
Lisa Marie Presley said she had sought a partner for several years to help expand Elvis Presley Enterprises and hoped the deal would preserve her father's legacy.
"My greatest responsibility to my father is to preserve and protect his legacy, and this is an exciting new structure that opens up an incredible array of opportunities," she said.
Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie's mother and Presley's former wife, will remain executive consultant to the business.
Posted by MK Magazine at December 16, 2004 08:49 PM