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Entertainment company Chorion, owner of characters such as Mr Men, Noddy and those created by Beatrix Potter, faces a reported possible administration this week.
The Sunday Times reports lenders to the company are preparing to force the business into administration, with Deloitte lined up to handle it, after attempts to find fresh funds failed and the Labour peer Lord Alli resigned as chairman.
Chorion, which also owns characters such as those in The World of Eric Carle, Spot, Enid Blyton, and The Snowman, has debts of £70m, annual interest payments of £35m and £16m of earnings, according to its annual accounts.
Its private equity owner 3i bought the company five years ago and invested £68m. In recent weeks, a number of private equity firms, including Searchlight Capital, have considered investing in Chorion, but talks have come to nothing.
However, in a further article in yesterday's (29th August) Telegraph, a source close to one of Deliotte's banks said "several options were still being considered”. The source said: "Administration is not something we are about to push the button on. We are still working through all the options."
Simon & Schuster, Penguin and HarperCollins are among the publishers to have recently signed publishing deals with Chorion. The entertainment company was unavailable for comment when contacted by The Bookseller.