A new court ruling has now paved the way for selling the music catalog of one of the biggest names in the industry.
A California appeals court has issued a final ruling on Michael Jackson’s estate, which clears the way for the $600 million sale of the singer’s catalog to Sony Music Group.
Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, attempted to block the deal. However, a judge rejected her, giving the power to his executors, John Branca and John McClain, to move forward instead.
Last month the court tentatively ruled against Katherine and last week the court made it official.
“The will gave the executors broad powers of sale, with no exception for the specific assets at issue in this case,” the court explained according to Billboard. “As such, [a lower judge] did not err in concluding that it was Michael’s intent to allow the executors to sell any estate assets, including those at issue in the proposed transaction.”
The court rejected Katherine’s appeal because she “forfeited her contention that the proposed transaction violates the terms of Michael’s will because she did not make that contention” in a lower court, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The outlet reported that Katherine argued that selling the catalog went against the King of Pop’s wishes. However, she acknowledged that the decision came down to her son’s executors.
Court documents also noted that the Jackson family matriarch was the only family member and beneficiary of Jackson’s trust to reject the sale.
Katherine can still appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court. So far she has not made a public statement about the ruling.
In February, it was reported that Sony agreed to buy half of Jackson’s publishing and the catalog of his recorded masters. The music giant agreed to pay $600 million, but sources told Billboard they were valued at over $1.2 billion.
Jackson died in 2009 in Los Angeles, California, at 50 years old.