UK IP owner Entertainment Rights, which names characters Rupert Bear, Basil Brush and Postman Pat among its portfolio and also owns US Classic Media, is in preliminary takeover talks following a profit warning on Friday. Reports suggest that several private equity firms and hedge funds in the UK and the US have made approaches – among them 3i, which owns Chorion, and Och-Ziff.

Classic Media’s properties include Lassie, The Lone Ranger, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Casper the Friendly Ghost.
The profits warning came in a Christmas trading update that was worse than expected after crucial DVDs were not delivered to UK retailers in November and December. DVD sales in the US were up.

ER was forced to announce the talks under London Stock Exchange rules after an unexpected share price hike. Insiders suggest that an agreed sale is unlikely as the value of the business has dropped by over 75% in the past 12 months.