One Equity close to buyout deal with CKX-WSJ

CHICAGO, March 27 (Reuters) - CKX Inc CKXE.O, which owns the "American Idol" TV show franchise, is in the late stages of a buyout transaction led by JP Morgan's (JPM.N) private-equity branch, One Equity Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the paper said the deal would pay CKX shareholders about $6 a share. CKX closed Friday at $5.96.

JP Morgan, which owns One Equity, was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson and Megan Davies; Editing by Eric Beech)