Postman Pat 'の近くに to Chorion 取引，協定'

By Jon Rees
Updated: 00:00 BST, 25 January 2004

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POSTMAN Pat's parent company, Entertainment 権利s, is 推定する／予想するd to make an 申し込む／申し出 for Chorion, owner of 競争相手 children's favourite Noddy, 早期に this week.

Entertainment 権利s is thought to be 製図／抽選 up an 申し込む／申し出 that would value Chorion at up to a third a bove Friday's の近くにing 株 price, which was 負かす／撃墜する わずかに on the week at 206 1/2p. Chorion, which also owns the 権利s to Agatha Christie's fictional sleuths 行方不明になる Marple and Hercule Poirot, has a 株式市場 value of £35.6 million.

Entertainment 権利s, which also owns Basil 小衝突, has been stalking Chorion for more than a year and is 価値（がある） わずかに いっそう少なく at £33.5 million. Its 株 の近くにd 負かす／撃墜する わずかに last week at 12 3/4p.

The 引き継ぎ／買収 パネル盤 介入するd in December to tell Entertainment 権利s that it had to make an 申し込む／申し出 for Chorion by February 4 or wait at least a その上の six months before making a new 企て，努力，提案 approach. The パネル盤's 介入 （機の）カム after Chorion's chairman, Lord Alli, said a previous approach from Entertainment 権利s undervalued the 会社／堅い. That 申し込む／申し出 is believed to have been a mixture of cash and 株.

Entertainment 権利s has made a 一連の approaches for Chorion. It 調印するd an 協定 with the company at the start of last year 妨げるing it from bidding for the company before this Tuesday.

Chorion, 一方／合間, has said it is in 排除的 会談 to buy the Mr Men characters from the 私的な Hargreaves organisation for about £25 million. That 取引，協定 was put on 持つ／拘留する by the 引き継ぎ／買収 パネル盤 判決，裁定-which means the company can only go ahead with it after 協議するing 株主s.

Chorion would almost certainly become too big for Entertainment 権利s to swallow if it acquired the Mr Men characters, so 投資家s will have to decide if their company is better served by the Mr Men 取引，協定 or by 存在 taken over.