he retained half ownership. As a company, Northern Songs was dissolved in 1995. In April 2006 a package was proposed whereby Jackson would borrow £186,480,000 and reduce the interest rate payable on a loan he had, while giving Sony a future option to buy half of Jackson's stake in their jointly-owned publishing company, leaving Jackson with a 25% stake. Jackson agreed to a Sony-backed refinancing deal, although the finalised details were not made public. Jackson's estate sold its remaining stake to Sony in 2016, and the company's name was reverted to Sony Music Publishing in February 2021. In 2017, it was reported that McCartney had reached a settlement with Sony to regain control over much of The Beatles' catalog. References Sources Further reading External links Rock Mine's Northern Songs page Paul McCartney on David Letterman talking about Jackson acquiring Beatles' songs Michael Jackson's visit to Perth (Australia) in 1985 for Channel 7's Telethon Publishing companies established in 1963 Companies disestablished in 1995 Music publishing companies of the United Kingdom Former Sony subsidiaries 1963 establishments in England Defunct companies based in London Michael Jackson The Beatles