Chorion verkauft vielleicht AC-Rechte
Verfasst: 01.05.2009, 01:24
Quelle: Times / Meldung vom 9.April 2009
Chorion in talks to sell Agatha Christie estate to Purple Ronnie owner
Dan Sabbagh and Susan Thompson
Chorion, the media rights company owned by Lord Alli and 3i, the investment group, is in talks to sell its crime division, including the Agatha Christie estate, to AIM-listed Coolabi for between £30 million and £50 million.
Coolabi, the little-known owner of properties such as Purple Ronnie and Bagpuss, yesterday suspended trading of its shares and confirmed that it was in discussions with an unnamed company about a deal that, should it proceed, would constitute a reverse takeover of the group.
Lord Alli, Chorion’s chairman, declined to comment on the identity of the bidder. However, he said that if the company in question could raise the money, he was confident they “would look after the crime business”. Coolabi was unavailable for comment.
Chorion has a long-running drama deal with ITV for the Agatha Christie characters Poirot and Miss Marple. The group’s crime portfolio includes Georges Simenon, Maigret’s creator, Margery Allingham, Nicholas Freeling, Edmund Crispin and Dennis Wheatley.
If the deal goes ahead, Chorion will invest proceeds into its faster-growing children’s division. Last year Chorion spent about £11 million on reinventing the Mr Men characters for a new television series aired on the Cartoon Network in the US and on Five in the UK.
This year the company is concentrating on the roll-out of an animated series about Olivia — a “pig with attitude” based on the novels by Ian Falconer — in the UK, Australia, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Chorion was taken private in May 2006 in a £111 million management buyout backed by 3i.
Coolabi started life as Alibi Communications, formed and floated in 1999. In 2004 it merged with the rival Coolebah, changing its name the following year to Coolabi. Its biggest shareholder is the brokerage Williams de Broë which has a 14.3 per cent stake.
There are close ties between Coolabi and Chorion. Jeremy Banks, Coolabi’s chief executive, is a former group commercial director of Chorion. Nicholas James, named a non-executive director of Coolabi in March, was chief executive of Chorion until July 2007.
Coolabi last month paid £85,000 for the estates of the crime writers John Creasey and Michael Innes, and a majority stake in the estate of Eric Ambler.
Chorion in talks to sell Agatha Christie estate to Purple Ronnie owner
Dan Sabbagh and Susan Thompson
Chorion, the media rights company owned by Lord Alli and 3i, the investment group, is in talks to sell its crime division, including the Agatha Christie estate, to AIM-listed Coolabi for between £30 million and £50 million.
Coolabi, the little-known owner of properties such as Purple Ronnie and Bagpuss, yesterday suspended trading of its shares and confirmed that it was in discussions with an unnamed company about a deal that, should it proceed, would constitute a reverse takeover of the group.
Lord Alli, Chorion’s chairman, declined to comment on the identity of the bidder. However, he said that if the company in question could raise the money, he was confident they “would look after the crime business”. Coolabi was unavailable for comment.
Chorion has a long-running drama deal with ITV for the Agatha Christie characters Poirot and Miss Marple. The group’s crime portfolio includes Georges Simenon, Maigret’s creator, Margery Allingham, Nicholas Freeling, Edmund Crispin and Dennis Wheatley.
If the deal goes ahead, Chorion will invest proceeds into its faster-growing children’s division. Last year Chorion spent about £11 million on reinventing the Mr Men characters for a new television series aired on the Cartoon Network in the US and on Five in the UK.
This year the company is concentrating on the roll-out of an animated series about Olivia — a “pig with attitude” based on the novels by Ian Falconer — in the UK, Australia, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Chorion was taken private in May 2006 in a £111 million management buyout backed by 3i.
Coolabi started life as Alibi Communications, formed and floated in 1999. In 2004 it merged with the rival Coolebah, changing its name the following year to Coolabi. Its biggest shareholder is the brokerage Williams de Broë which has a 14.3 per cent stake.
There are close ties between Coolabi and Chorion. Jeremy Banks, Coolabi’s chief executive, is a former group commercial director of Chorion. Nicholas James, named a non-executive director of Coolabi in March, was chief executive of Chorion until July 2007.
Coolabi last month paid £85,000 for the estates of the crime writers John Creasey and Michael Innes, and a majority stake in the estate of Eric Ambler.