天王傑克遜身後債務知多少(雙語圖文)

Nearly a year after Michael Jackson's death, the managers overseeing his estate have stabilized its precarious financial situation, but at least one major liability still looms: a $300 million loan due at the end of this year.

邁克爾•傑克遜(Michael Jackson)離開人世快一年了，爲其管理產業的經理人已把傑克遜原先岌岌可危的財務狀況穩定下來，但至少還有一筆主要的負債懸而未決：2010年底到期的三億美元貸款。

Thanks to the surge of fan interest sparked by Mr. Jackson's death, the singer generated some $200 million posthumously, allowing the estate to pay off tens of millions of dollars in debt and avert foreclosure on the suburban Los Angeles home where the singer's mother lives.

位於美國洛杉磯Encino區的傑克遜故居傑克遜死後，歌迷對他的興趣激增，這位美國流行音樂天王在過世後依然創收約兩億美元，從而得以支付以千萬美元計的部分債務，避免其在洛杉磯郊外的房子被強制止贖，那是傑克遜的母親居住的地方。

Since Mr. Jackson's death last June 25, his businesses have been run by the singer's longtime lawyer, John Branca, and a music-industry veteran and personal friend of Mr. Jackson's named John McClain. Unlike traditional executors, Messrs. Branca and McClain are aggressively managing Mr. Jackson's affairs as a going concern.

傑克遜於2009年6月25日去世後，他的產業由其長期以來的私人律師布蘭卡(John Branca)代爲管理。布蘭卡是一位音樂界資深人士，也是傑克遜指定的另一位遺產管理人邁克萊恩(John McClain)的好友。與傳統的遺產執行人不同，布蘭卡和邁克萊恩以積極的態度管理傑克遜留下來的產業，希望將其持續經營下去。

The estate's primary beneficiaries are Mr. Jackson's three young children and his 80-year-old mother, Katherine, who is now the children's guardian.

傑克遜產業的主要受益人是他的三個小孩和80歲的老母親凱瑟琳(Katherine)，後者現在是孩子的監護人。

Meanwhile, Mr. Jackson's absence from the equation has eliminated the chaos and out-of-control spending that reigned during his life.

與此同時，傑克遜的辭世也給糾纏其一生的混亂以及失控的支出劃上一個句號。

Using income from past music sales and advances against future ones, music-publishing royalties, a film-rights sale and various other licensing deals, the estate has paid off nearly $200 million of the $500 million debt the singer had used to fund his extravagant spending.

藉助音樂銷售收入和未來銷售的預付款、音樂版稅、電影版權收入以及其他形形色色的授權交易，傑克遜死後賺到的錢又幫他支付了五億美元債務中的近兩億美元。去世前，傑克遜靠這筆鉅額債務支撐其過着揮霍無度的生活。

The estate has collected as much as $125 million in royalties and advances from Sony Corp.'s Sony Music, which has sold 31.5 million Jackson albums since his death and plans to distribute an album of previously unreleased music around November. Corporate sibling Sony Pictures paid $60 million for rights to 'This Is It,' the documentary about rehearsals for Mr. Jackson's planned comeback concerts.

傑克遜的產業得到索尼公司(Sony Corp.)旗下索尼音樂娛樂公司(Sony Music)1.25億美元的版稅和銷售預付款，這家公司自傑克遜死後賣出了3150萬張他的音樂專輯，並計劃於2010年11月左右推出一張從未發佈過的傑克遜歌曲的專輯唱片。索尼的另一家子公司索尼影視娛樂有限公司(Sony Pictures)爲電影《就是這樣》(This Is It)支付了6000萬美元的版稅，這部影片記錄了傑克遜爲其復出演唱會進行彩排的點點滴滴。

Mijac, the publishing company that controls the copyrights to songs written by Mr. Jackson, is on track to generate $35 million in royalties. The estate is set to collect $11 million in dividends from Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the joint venture with Sony Corp. that controls 251 songs by the Beatles. Television and merchandise deals could generate another $10 million, while deals to create a videogame and two Cirque du Soleil shows based on Mr. Jackson's music are set to provide additional revenue later this year.

傑克遜的唱片以及影片《就是這樣》吸金無數傑克遜自創歌曲的版權都歸Mijac音樂公司所有，預計將產生3500萬的版稅收入。此外，傑克遜與索尼公司合資的SONY/ATV音樂出版公司(Sony/ATV Music Publishing)擁有251首披頭士樂隊(Beatles)的歌曲版權，預計將帶來1100萬美元的分紅。電視和商品化經營可再貢獻1000萬美元，一款電子遊戲和兩場以傑克遜音樂爲主題的太陽馬戲團(Cirque du Soleil)表演也將在2010年下半年帶來額外的收入。

However, Mr. Jackson's biggest financial obligation remains unresolved. A $300 million loan from Barclays PLC, backed by his 50% stake in Sony/ATV, matures at the end of the year. To secure the loan in 2006, Mr. Jackson appealed for help from Sony, which dispatched two executives to meet him in Dubai and negotiate terms under which it would guarantee the loan.

不過，傑克遜最大的一筆債務還是沒能解決，就是他以Sony/ATV公司50%股權爲抵押從巴克萊銀行(Barclays PLC)借來的3億美元，這筆債務將於2010年底到期。2006年，爲獲得這筆貸款，傑克遜向索尼公司求助；後者派出兩名高管前往迪拜和傑克遜談判願意爲其貸款提供擔保的條款。

At the time, Mr. Jackson was in danger of defaulting on a $270 million loan held by hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC. As part of the agreement under which Barclays ultimately refinanced that debt, Mr. Jackson granted Sony an option to buy half of his stake in the company at any time for a fixed price of $250 million. At the time that was a generous valuation, but Sony/ATV's value has since soared to some $2 billion.

當時，傑克遜欠着Fortress Investment Group LLC的2.7億美元貸款，有可能無法到期償還。作爲說服巴克萊銀行最終爲這筆債務提供再融資的條件之一，傑克遜賦予索尼公司一個期權，可以在任意時間以2.5億美元的固定價格收購其所持有的Sony/ATV公司股權的一半。在那時候看來，這個價格似乎很高，但Sony/ATV的估值後來飆升到了20億美元左右。

The Jackson estate and Sony have held talks about whether the company will again guarantee a refinancing of the debt backed by Mr. Jackson's Sony/ATV stake. If it won't, the estate could be forced to sell its stake in Sony/ATV at a steep discount, though that would still generate enough cash to wipe out the Barclays loan with hundreds of millions to spare. But Sony may have an incentive to reach a deal on refinancing, because buying out Mr. Jackson's estate would require it to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for an asset it already effectively controls.

傑克遜的遺產管理人已與索尼公司洽談多次，看其能否再爲這筆債務的再融資進行擔保。如果談判失敗，遺產管理人將被迫以很低的折扣價出售傑克遜持有的Sony/ATV股權，儘管這筆交易將帶來足夠的現金收入，不但足以償付巴克萊的貸款，最後還能剩下好幾億美元。不過，索尼公司可能更願意達成再融資協議，因爲購買傑克遜持有的這部分股權，意味着要爲其早已有效控股的資產再次支付數億美元的現金。

All of this stands in stark contrast to the state of affairs when Mr. Jackson died. Among the unpaid bills at the time of his death, Mr. Jackson had not paid $341,000 to Thomas Mesereau, the lawyer who successfully defended him against charges of child molestation in 2005. That bill and many other creditors' claims, including other law firm invoices, have now been paid.

跟傑克遜死時的經濟狀況相比，現在的情形可謂天壤之別。當時傑克遜負債累累，連那個幫他在2005年打贏孌童案的辯護律師梅薩魯(Thomas Mesereau)都還沒拿到34.1萬美元的律師費。現在，包括這筆律師費和其它律師費在內的許多債務都已經被還清了。

The singer was also months behind on utility bills for the family home in Encino, Calif., where his mother, Katherine, now lives with his three children, along with children of two of his brothers. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, owed nearly $9,000, was threatening to disconnect service. AT&T Inc. was owed $1,300.

傑克遜在加州Encino的豪宅已經拖欠了好幾個月的水電費。現在，他母親凱瑟琳跟傑克遜的三個孩子住在那裏，另外還有傑克遜兩個兄弟的孩子們。傑克遜曾欠下洛杉磯水電局(Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) 近9,000美元的費用，後者威脅要切斷那棟房子的供水和供電。此外，傑克遜還欠着美國電話電報公司(AT&T) 1,300美元的通話費。

More troubling, Mr. Jackson had fallen behind on the payments for a $5 million IndyMac loan secured by the house. The property was scheduled to enter foreclosure the day after Mr. Jackson died. A nearby condominium, four months behind on loan payments and homeowners' dues, was also threatened with foreclosure, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Jackson's representatives have now paid off those loans.

更麻煩的是，在Encino的這棟房子上，傑克遜欠下IndyMac銀行500萬美元的抵押貸款未還。傑克遜死後的第二天，這棟房子就計劃進入止贖程序。此外，據知情人士透露，傑克遜在附近擁有的一棟高級公寓也有四個月的房貸月供和物業費沒交，同樣面臨止贖危險。現在，傑克遜的遺產管理人已經付清了所有這些欠款。

Mr. Jackson was living in a rented mansion in Holmby Hills, a ritzy neighborhood near Bel Air, covering his sizable personal overhead with a $35 million cash advance from AEG Live, the concert promoter that was planning to stage his London concerts. That loan, too, has been repaid.

傑克遜生前住在洛杉磯高尚社區Holmby Hills一棟租下來的豪宅中，手頭僅有從AEG Live公司那裏得到的3500萬美元演唱會預付款，用於支付鉅額的個人支出。這家演出公司本來計劃主辦傑克遜的倫敦演唱會。現在，這筆預付款也已經還回去了。