Jackson’s Neverland Ranch sold for $35 million
By Sam Womack/Staff Writer
Pop star Michael Jackson has sold Neverland Ranch north of Los Olivos for some $35 million.
Michael Jackson has sold Neverland Ranch to a Delaware-based corporation for approximately $35 million, although the King of Pop retains an interest in the property.
The infamous property north of Los Olivos in Santa Barbara County was transferred from Jackson to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, which formed in mid-July, according to documents from the county assessor’s office.
Sycamore is a joint venture between Jackson and an affiliate of Colony Capital Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that purchased the entertainer’s $24.5 million mortgage on the property in May, according to a source close to the deal.
The pop star’s private amusement park and home at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road opened in 1988 and consisted of 2,800 acres. Prior to that, it was a working cattle ranch owned by Bill Bone, a developer who has his own connections to Colony Capital.
A notice of default from a San Francisco title company was served in November 2007 suggesting that Jackson’s ownership of the ranch could be at risk. And a foreclosure auction in May was canceled after Colony Capital LLC purchased the multi-million loan.
Jackson has struggled to pay his debts in recent years after his financial empire crumbled following his arrest in 2003 on child-molestation charges. A jury later acquitted him and he reportedly hasn’t lived at Neverland for the past two years.
Jackson’s Neverland Ranch sold for $35 million
Neverland Ranch sold
Last Update: 2:41 pm
Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch has been sold to an investment firm whose bosses will rename the property in a joint venture with the pop star, according to new reports.
Jackson prevented a foreclosure sale of the California estate when New York-based private equity group Colony Capital agreed to take over his $24.5 million debt on the property in May.
According to Santa Barbara records, the title to Neverland was transferred on Monday to a company called Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC.
Sycamore is a joint venture between Jackson and a division of Colony Capital - owner of numerous Las Vegas properties including Red Rock Country Club and the Las Vegas Hilton.
The sale has fuelled reports Jackson has signed on to perform his own headlining show in the city.
According to website TMZ.com, the property will be renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch in effort to revamp its image, tinged by the negative press surrounding Jackson's child molestation trial, which ended in his acquittal in 2005.
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