Wall Street eyes Jackson’s assets

As the world sorts through the pieces of Michael Jackson’s life one month after his death, so, too, does Wall Street.
A handful of major financial firms have made inquiries into buying the Jackson estate’s 50% share of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the company that controls most of the Beatles song catalog. Among them are Colony Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Plainfield Asset Management and media mogul Haim Saban. Sony/ATV is by far the most valuable asset in Jackson’s estate, and his 50% stake could be worth as much a $500 million. Jackson bought the majority of the Beatles catalog in 1985 for $47.5 million, after an informal chat with Paul McCartney about the wisdom of buying song catalogs. Since then, Sony/ATV — formed from a 1995 partnership with Sony — has bought up the rights to thousands of songs from artists, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Beck and Taylor Swift. In recent years, it made a big push into TV production, helping to balance out its radio business. “Sony/ATV’s really started to gain greater value in recent years,” said Barry Massarsky, a music industry consultant. “I’m very bullish on its prospects.” John Branca, the entertainment lawyer who structured Jackson’s initial purchase of the Beatles catalog and is now an executor of his estate, said the Jackson stake in Sony/ATV “is not for sale.” The stake is likely to continue growing in value, and some Jackson family members have pondered the merits of selling. Others have proposed cobbling together a consortium to buy out Sony’s share in the publisher.

Mary Kom set to get Khel Ratna award

NEW DELHI: It took four World Championship titles for MC Mary Kom to finally get a recommendation for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.

The pugilist from Manipur was on Monday recommended to the sports ministry alongwith Beijing Olympic bronze medallists boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar for the coveted awards by a panel of experts headed by table tennis star of yesteryears, Indu Puri. The fact that three sportspersons have been recommended is unprecented in the history of the awards. The three were picked on the basis of their performance in 2008. Mary Kom won her fourth world championship title during the year while both Vijender and Suhil excelled in Beijing Olympics. The sports ministry will now take the decision on giving the award jointly to them or picking just one. The award has been shared in the past when yatchers Homi D Motivala and PK Garg bagged it together in 1994. Tennis star Leander Paes and weightlifter N Kunjarani Devi got it for 1996 while Anjali Bhagwat (shooting) and KM Beenamol (athletics) shared it for 2002. "We have primarily recommended Mary Kom for the Khel Ratna. But at the same time one could not have ignored Vijender and Sushil for their Olympic medals. So, we have sent three names to the ministry which will take the final call," a source told TOI. The experts also named 15 sportspersons for the Arjuna awards. The list includes cricketer Gautam Gambhir, badminton star Saina Nehwal and hockey player Ignace Tirkey. Delhi's Tania Sachdev has also been picked for the award in chess. A different panel, headed by eminent athlete GS Randhawa, selected five coaches for the Dronacharya awards - P Gopi Chand (badminton), Satpal (wrestling), Baldev Singh (hockey), Jaidev Bisht (boxing) and Uday Kumar (kabaddi).

Lathicharge on PCPA Supporters in WB near Largarh

LALGARH (WB): A landmine exploded today at Bankisole in West Midnapore district as security forces combed 43 villages on the second day of the three-day bandh called by People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), a tribal organisation. No casualty was reported in the blast. The landmine went off at a jungle in Bankisole, which together with Dharampore and Kadasole areas, all within a proximity of around 2-4 km from Lalgarh, were combed for Maoists, police said. Meanwhile, hundreds of PCPA supporters and students were lathi-charged at Gohumidanga High School near Dharampur when they held a demonstration to protest the institute being used as a camp by the security forces. Around 16 people were injured in the lathicharge, the sources said. The PCPA has called the shutdown in tribal areas of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts to protest the alleged atrocities by security forces during their anti-Maoist operation since June 19 in West Midnapore. The bandh was peaceful, but transport services were hit in many areas. Many have quit the CPI-M in areas like Lalgrah, Ramgarh, Manikpara, Belpharai and Goaltore allegedly under the Maoists' pressure.

TDP MLA Rama Rao found guilty

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh police on Monday arrested a legislator belonging to the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on charges of molesting female students from Kerala at the nursing college run by him. A three-member team from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the state police arrested T.V. Rama Rao in Kovvur in the coastal district of West Godavari.
The arrest was made two weeks after five female students of TVR College of Nursing in Nidadavolu town in West Godavari district complained to the state home minister and state human rights commission that Rama Rao tried to molest them.
Earlier on June 18, Nidadavolu police had booked the legislator for rape and murder of a student. However, the police could not make any progress in the case as it failed to find any evidence of the offence. The legislator had denied the charges and claimed that it was a conspiracy by his political rivals.
The case took a dramatic turn on June 4 when five students from Kerala appeared before state home minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy to complain that the legislator made a rape attempt. They later recorded their statements before CID, which is probing the case.
The girls also complained to the state governor and the human rights commission. The commission had also sought a report from West Godavari district police, which found Rama Rao guilty of molestation.
The case took a political overtone after TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu accused the Congress government of implicating the legislator in false cases. Rama Rao and his family members also started an indefinite fast early this month to demand withdrawal of the case.