The Canadian media group that owns Inspector Gadget is in advanced talks about a deal to take control of the Teletubbies, the children’s characters part-owned by the BBC.
Sky News understands that DHX Media, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has entered exclusive talks to buy Ragdoll Worldwide.
The value of the prospective deal is unclear, and a number of issues require resolution before a transaction is agreed, according to insiders, with it still possible that the takeover falls apart. However, they said an agreement could be reached within as little as a week.
DHX is understood to have seen off competition for Ragdoll from rival bidders including Classic Media, the owner of Lassie.
Ragdoll Worldwide was established as a joint venture in 2006 between BBC Worldwide, the Corporation’s commercial arm, and Anne Wood, the Teletubbies’ creator. It is responsible for selling and licensing a number of characters internationally.
The tussle for control of Ragdoll underlines the desire among intellectual property owners to get their hands on profitable properties such as the Teletubbies.
The characters first aired on the BBC in 1997 and have since been shown in 120 countries and in 45 languages.
In addition to the Teletubbies, Ragdoll Worldwide owns the rights to programming produced by Ragdoll Productions including In The Night Garden and The Adventures of Abney & Teal.
DC Advisory Partners, which is working on the sale, was appointed because of its successful auctioning of the assets of Chorion, the intellectual property company which held the rights to the Mr Men and parts of Enid Blyton’s literary estate.
In a statement last year, a BBC Worldwide spokeswoman confirmed that DC would advise both partners “on the best future strategy to maximise the value of their joint venture Ragdoll Worldwide Limited. Whilst a sale of the rights held within the joint venture is a potential route, this is just one of the many options that we are exploring”.
BBC Worldwide declined to comment on the discussions with DHX.