Steady revenue, growth potential from Elvis brand pluses for whomever buys CKx Inc.

Elvis Week hits stride as buyout talks heat up

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Elvis Presley is in play.

CKx Inc., owner of the “American Idol” television program and 85 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises, is mulling offers to buy the company.

At the same time, thousands of Elvis fans are descending on Memphis for Elvis Week, the annual celebration of the American music icon’s life and remembrance of his death.

CKx owns rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley and the operations of Graceland, Presley’s Memphis mansion. Last year, Elvis generated more than $60 million in revenue from royalties, licensing and Graceland’s operations.

Two faces familiar to CKx have offered to buy it: Robert Sillerman, the company’s former CEO, and Simon Fuller, the British media mogul who created the “Idol” franchise.