Andrew Lloyd Webber Selling Theaters to Cut Debt

Andrew Lloyd Webber, famed creator of "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera," is selling four of his London theaters in order to reduce debt. Described as "mid size" music houses the Palace, Her Majesty's, the Cambridge and the New London are all going for a total of 4,900 seats sold in all. 6,100 seats in the larger Palladium, Theater Royal Drury Lane, and the 50 percent owned Adelphi are all staying.

Webber had prostate surgery last year and post-operative complications since then have made things difficult. "It has been a totally gut-wrenching decision for me to decide to sell the four theatres," he said in a statement. "However, following my illness last year I was advised to reduce the debt in the family company."

The sale is expected to be finalized in January and details are not yet available except to say that in addition to reducing debt some of the proceeds will also be re-invested back into the Palladium and the Theater Royal Drury Lane.