Jackson estate 'to earn $200 million'

Michael Jackson's estate is expected to earn $200 million (£120m) in the six months following his death, it has been claimed.

The singer's beneficiaries are believed to have already received $100m from merchandising contracts and his film deal since he passed away in June, with twice that amount expected by the end of the year, The New York Times reports.

Jackson's lawyer and co-executor John Branca said: "Clearly that's a new record for estates that likely will not be broken. When you look at what the Presley estate has done, you see the opportunities here. I quite frankly think this will be a bigger estate."

Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for Branca and John McClain, continued: "We are very optimistic about the revenue we will generate. But we also have to be sober about the debt the estate has."

Regarding speculation of the sale of Jackson's music publishing catalogue, which includes the bulk of the songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in The Beatles, Branca added: "We do not contemplate selling any portion of Sony/ATV."