Private equity firm to buy 'American Idol' parent

[May 11, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- The company that is parent of "American Idol" and owns the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali is being sold for about $511 million in cash.

A private equity group led by Apollo Global Management said Tuesday it will pay $5.50 per share for CKx Inc. That is a 24 percent premium to the stock's closing price Monday of $4.45.

The company had about 92.9 million shares outstanding as of March 31.

The board and CKx's largest shareholder support the deal. A cash tender offer is expected to start soon and expire in 20 days.

The news came as New York-based CKx says it earned $7.2 million in the first quarter despite a 20 percent drop in revenue as it cut expenses.

[Associated Press]

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