NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — "American Idol" owner CKX Inc. confirmed it's in discussions regarding a possible sale, after chief executive officer Robert F.X. Sillerman said this month he was "extremely frustrated" with the company's stock price.

One Equity Partners, JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s private equity arm, is near an agreement to take New York-based CKX private, a person with knowledge of the matter said March 26. There's no assurance a deal will take place and no guarantee it will be at the price and terms speculated, CKX said in a statement yesterday.

Reports of a possible sale pushed CKX's market value to about $558 million, or $6 a share, after the stock fell to an almost one-year low of $3.94 in February. Sillerman has taken out personal loans, backed by his CKX shares, that may go into default if the stock falls, according to a regulatory filing.

"It's important to me to make sure that I maintain control of my own life and my own finances," Sillerman said on a March 16 earnings call.

Sillerman, 61, has pledged about 15.6 million CKX shares as collateral against a $50 million personal loan from Deutsche Bank AG, according to a February 12 filing. A closing price below $3 on any day when the August 2011 loan is outstanding, or below $4 after April 26, may trigger default, the filing says.

"I'm frustrated at the public valuation, and I couldn't tell you how much longer that I can sit by," Sillerman said on the call. He called April 26 a "very important date".

If faced with default, "I would have to take that into consideration when I thought about what I wanted to do with the company," Sillerman said on the call.

CKX rose seven cents to $6.03 at 1:56 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares jumped 8.8 percent March 26 when sale talks were first reported.

Ed Tagliaferri, a spokesman for CKX, declined to comment beyond the statement.

Sillerman dropped a $12-a-share bid to take the company private in November 2008, citing "extraordinary national and global economic conditions". The executive initially sought to buy CKX in June 2007 for $13.75 a share, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. He lowered the offer in May 2008.

CKX owns the rights to Elvis Presley's name and image, and operates his Graceland mansion. The company also holds rights to boxer Muhammad Ali's name and image. In 2005 it acquired the owner of "American Idol," the most-watched US television show for the past five seasons.

CKX owns two-thirds of the "Idols" brand and co-produces the show in the US with Bertelsmann AG's Fremantle Media, owner of the other third, according to the company's annual report. CKX's 19 Entertainment has a global television and production agreement with Fremantle. Sony Music is the record label for "Idols" brands in most of the world.