ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER is bidding to expand his musical empire by buying one of the most powerful back catalogues in theatre.

The writer of hit shows such as Cats and Phantom Of The Opera is preparing an offer for the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organisation.

The group owns the rights to 100 songwriters including Irving Berlin, who wrote White Christmas as well as hit musicals such as Oklahoma and South Pacific of Rodgers and Hammerstein themselves.

The organisation already represents Lord Lloyd-Webber's own musicals in America.

The opportunity comes as Mary Rodgers Guettel and Alice Hammerstein Mathias, the duo's elderly daughters, are exploring future options for the business they operate through family trusts.

But a price tag of at least £73 million has been put on the lucrative rights to songs such as There's No Business Like Showbusiness and Some Enchanted Evening. And the family is said to want offers in the region of £142 million which is more than some estimates of its worth.

A source close to Lord Lloyd-Webber said: "He is putting together a bid."

He has been working with Andre Ptaszynski, his chief executive, on an offer since news broke of the potential R&H sale in New York last month.

Victory would make him the most important person in musical theatre and one of the most important in music. He is likely to face stiff competition from almost every big name in the business. EMI, Sony BMG Universal Music and Warner have been all linked to the deal.

But what may distinguish Lord Lloyd-Webber is his own track record. The Rodgers and Hammerstein families guard their musical inheritance closely. And they are said to admire what the British composer did with his new version of The Sound of Music.

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