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Michael Jackson, the King of Pop has lost ownership of his
erstwhile kingdom, the Neverland Ranch in California, after transferring the deeds to
a company he has partial control of.
Earlier this week, Michael Jackson filed legal papers in California making the
Sycamore Valley Ranch Company the new owner of his well-known fairyland home
the Neverland Ranch, reports the Associated Press.
Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. is a joint venture between Jackson and an affiliate
of Colony Capital LLC, according to the AP report, the same Colony who bailed
the singer out in March when he owed $24.5 million on the property. Colony
acquired the debt and just in the nick of time too, as Neverland was a week
away from being auctioned off.
The 2,500-acre property sprawls in Santa
Barbara County, 120
miles northwest of Los Angeles,
and was acquired by Michael Jackson in 1987. The star dreamt of transforming it
into a fairyland, which explains his choice of name: Neverland is the name of
an island in J. M. Barry’s “Peter Pan,” where children never grow up.
Jackson
transformed it into a miniature amusement park, complete with Ferris wheel,
roller coaster and other rides, as well as a zoo.
The property was closed in 2006 after Jackson could no longer keep up with expenses
and failed to pay his staff or maintain proper insurance. He has not lived
there since 2005, when he was acquitted in his child molestation trial.
It is unclear what will become of the ranch now. The deal in
March had meant Jackson
could keep Neverland. It is believed to have been left in disrepair since its
abandonment two years ago
At the time Michael Jackson purchased the estate, he was at
the height of his career, having just released the record-breaking album “Bad.”
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