Want Michael Jackson's white glove? Too, uhm, bad. The auction of Jacko items is off.

Close on 1400 items — including the gates of his now closed Neverland Ranch, a golden throne and the famous crystal-encrusted glove — were set to be auctioned next week.

But with the singer's production company suing Julien Auction House to stop the sale, Jackson's possessions will be returned to him. The terms of the last-minute settlement, reached yesterday, also result in the 'Bad' singer dropping the lawsuit while the public display of the items in Los Angeles will continue until the end of next week.

"There was so much interest from so many of Jackson's fans that instead of putting the items in the hands of private collectors, Dr. Tohme and Julien's Auction House have made arrangements that will allow the collection to be shared with and enjoyed by Jackson's fans for many years to come," said auction organiser Darren Julien and Jackson spokesperson Dr. Tohme R. Tohme in a joint statement.

MJJ Productions, Jackson's company, sued Julien in March claiming that the singer had not authorised the auction.

"It's been our hopes to resolve this in the beginning, when the lawsuit was filed," Julien said. "It was in our best interest to resolve it."

The items to be auctioned were all retrieved from the 2500-acre Neverland Ranch which he left in 2005 after being acquitted of child abuse charges. He sold part-ownership of the property, which included a theme park and zoo, last year.

Julien, in turn, has recently overseen auctions of other celebrity memorabilia including possessions of Bob Hope and Ozzy Osbourne.

"We continue to have great respect for Michael Jackson. ...I guess you could call it the greatest auction that never happened," Julien said.