London's Print and Editions sales come in with remarkably even market share; Michel Cohen is still out there; Modigliani on paper stars in Artcurial's Altounian sale.

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Sotheby’s All Set to Close

Sotheby’s says it has cleared the regulatory hurtles necessary to set an October 3rd closing date.

Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID) announced today that all regulatory approvals required for the acquisition of the Company by BidFair USA, an entity wholly owned by Patrick Drahi, have been obtained.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported this week that Patrick Drahi’s vehicle for acquiring the auction house, Bidfair, is raising $1.1bn through debt sales:

Sotheby’s is taking out $1.1 billion of debt to help finance its $2.7 billion acquisition by French billionaire and art collector Patrick Drahi. The auction house is selling $550 million of bonds through its BidFair MergeRight Inc. subsidiary, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The eight-year notes, which can’t be bought back for three years, are expected to price Friday, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.

Michel Cohen Surfaces After 17 Years

The Guardian has a bit of a silly story about a new documentary that will air on the BBC next week. The film is about the former art world runner, Michel Cohen, who sold multiple conflicting shares in paintings by Picasso and others to try to cover his mounting commodities-trading losses before disappearing in 2001. The initial scandal features Bill Acquavella, Paul Kantor and, briefly in this Anthony Haden-Guest piece in New York Magazine from the time, Andrew Fabricant.