Round Hill Music has acquired a sizeable stake in Judas Priest's catalog, following the collapse of founder member K.K. Downing's luxury golf course venture, Billboard reports.

Downing's share of the royalty rights to 136 Judas Priest tracks, including classic songs "Breaking The Law," "Living After Midnight" and "Painkiller," were put up for sale earlier this year after a number of his UK leisure businesses were placed into administration (similar to Chapter 11 insolvency in the US).

No announcement has been made by Round Hill, although sources say that they won the bidding to acquire the rights, which consist of Downing's publishing and writer's share, and his artist royalties from the master recordings. Round Hill has already completed that acquisition. The company declined to comment and terms of the deal are not known.

According to administrators FRP Advisory LLP, who handled the rights sale, Downing's catalog share generates between $340,000 and $400,000 per year in royalties.

The guitarist - real name Ken Downing - was forced to sell his holding after investing millions into Astbury Hall - a sprawling 320-acre estate in Shropshire, England with an 18 hole, 71-par golf course, which he hoped would one day attract the Open Championship.

After falling into severe financial difficulties, the 320-acre estate was put up for sale by administrators last fall with an asking price of more than £10 million ($13.5 million). Administrators blamed "tougher economic times within the wider corporate hospitality market" for placing "unsustainable pressure" on the business.

Read the full report at Billboard.com.

K.K. Downing's autobiography is due for release on September 18th via Da Capo Press. Heavy Duty: Days And Nights In Judas Priest is now available for pre-order via here.

A book synopsis states: Judas Priest formed in the industrial city of Birmingham,

England, in 1968. With its distinctive twin-guitar sound, studs-and-leather image, and international sales of over 50 million records, Judas Priest became the archetypal heavy metal band in the 1980s. Iconic tracks like “Breaking The Law”, “Living After Midnight”, and “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” helped the band achieve extraordinary success, but no one from the band has stepped out to tell their or the band’s story until now.

As the band approaches its golden anniversary, fans will at last be able to delve backstage into the decades of shocking, hilarious, and haunting stories that surround the heavy metal institution. In Heavy Duty guitarist K.K. Downing discusses frontman Rob Halford’s hidden sexuality, the personality conflicts, the business screw-ups, the acrimonious relationship with fellow heavy metal band Iron Maiden, and how Judas Priest was at ground zero for the parental outrage targeting heavy metal in the ’80s. Lastly, he reveals the life-changing moment when he looked at his bandmates on stage during a 2010 concert and thought, “This is the last show.” Whatever the topic, whoever’s involved, K.K. doesn’t hold back.

With the band at the beginning through his retirement in 2010 (and even still as a member of the band’s board of directors), Downing has seen it all and is now finally at a place in his life where he can also let it all go. Even if you’re a lifelong fan, if you think you know the full story of Judas Priest, well, you’ve got another thing coming.