eOne completes Peppa Pig purchase

Entertainment One has completed the deal to buy a controlling 70% stake in Peppa Pig producer Astley Baker Davies.

The £140 million (US$215.7 million) agreement closed yesterday, bringing the lucrative Peppa preschool brand further under eOne’s control.

Peppa, a US$1 billion revenue brand, remains among the most popular preschool franchises on the market. eOne has held distribution and licensing and merchandising rights to it since acquiring UK-based Contender Entertainment Group for £49.4 million in June 2007.

The ABD takeover came as part of eOne’s mission to double its size, and followed and the acquisition of a controlling stake in Grey’s Anatomy producer The Mark Gordon Company for US$132.6 million.