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ER confirms takeover talks, shareholder rescue plan

Entertainment Rights (ER) has confirmed it is in early takeover talks, while shareholders at the debt-laden Postman Pat firm try to raise £30m (US$43.6m) in an attempt to rescue the business.

ER put a statement out to the London Stock Exchange over the Christmas period confirming it was “in early stage discussions, which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company.”

Potential buyers for the children’s media firm include Chorion, the literary rights company owned by multimillionaire Labour peer Waheed Alli and private investment firm 3i, as well as US-owned Hit Entertainment and Italian media giant De Agostini.

Takeover discussions are in extremely early stages and are thought to involve more than one party. When questioned about shareholders raising money to save the company, an ER spokesman said: “The company’s priority is securing longer-term support from the bank.”

In October last year, C21 revealed that ER was to embark on an asset sale and implement job losses as part of its plan to reduce debts of up to £127m, largely incurred after it acquired US firm Classic Media.

Weeks later C21 also revealed that 22 jobs were to go in the firm’s UK office.

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