Apollo Global Completes Acquisition of 'American Idol' Owner CKx

4:56 AM PDT 6/22/2011 by Georg Szalai

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Michael Becker/FOX

The $510 million deal has taken the company, which also owns "So You Think You Can Dance" and the rights to the likeness and names of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, private.

NEW YORK - An affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Global Management has completed the roughly $510 million acquisition of American Idol owner CKx Inc., the companies said early Wednesday.

CKx is the owner of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer 19 Entertainment and also owns the rights to the likeness and names of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali.

After failed acquisition attempts by others in recent years, Apollo made a cash tender offer of $5.50 per share for CKx and a follow-up offer, which expired earlier this week.

Since CKx is privately owned now, trading of its stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was suspended prior to the opening of Wednesday trading.

Gleacher & Company and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as financial and legal advisors to CKx. AGM Partners was the lead financial advisor to Apollo with Goldman Sachs and Evolution Media Capital also advising. Legal advisers to Apollo included Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and O'Melveny & Myers.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai