Elvis
listing plan rocks OTC stock
Shares
of Sports Entertainment Enterprises soar
By
Steve Gelsi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Sports
Entertainmnt Enterprises Inc.'s stayed hot for a second straight
day Friday after shares soared more than 6,000 percent on
plans to convert the shell company into a vehicle to market
Elvis Presley's estate.
In
a $100 million deal cleared by Presley's sole heir Lisa Marie
Presley, entertainment producer and founder of SFX Entertainment
Robert Sillerman said Thursday he'll buy Elvis Presley Enterprises
Inc., founded after the star's 1977 death.
At
the same time, Sillerman set plans to buy about 94 percent
of Sports Entertainment Enterprises, a mostly inactive, publicly
traded company, and roll the Presley estate into a new business.
The new company will operate under the name CKX Inc., with
plans for a public listing of stock.
Shares
of Sports Entertainment Enterprises tacked on another 33 percent
on Friday, rising $2.15 to $8.55. On Thursday, shares rocketed
to $6.31 from its close of 10 cents the day before. The transaction
was structured so that the title to the Graceland estate and
its 13.6-acre grounds in Memphis and most of Elvis's personal
effects remain with Lisa Marie Presley, the singer's daughter.
The
new partnership includes all trademark rights to the name,
likeness and image of Elvis Presley, as well as intellectual
property, including photographs, archival documents and footage,
and the music publishing catalog. The deal also includes the
Graceland visitor center complex and Heartbreak Hotel across
the street from the mansion and all other real-estate investments.
Sillerman
is founder of SFX Entertainment, a major concert venue and
entertainment firm sold to Clear Channel in 2000 for about
$4.4 billion in stock. On a combined and unaudited basis,
the "Elvis" businesses reported net operating income of $9.4
million and revenue of $37.9 million for the nine months ended
Sept. 30.
Sports
Entertainment Enterprises is a Las Vegas-based shell company
whose principals operate a golf and tennis sporting goods
center.
(News,
Source: CBS.MarketWatch.com)
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