Lord Alli to quit Mr Men owner Chorion
The chairman of Noddy and
Mr Men owner Chorion, Lord Alli is to step down after the business
failed to renegotiate banking deals to alleviate its significant debt
burden
Labour peer Alli and William Astor, the deputy chairman
of the Agatha Christie rights owner, both tendered their resignations
last night.
Alli and Astor were part of a four-strong management team that sold Chorion to private equity firm 3i in 2006 for £111m.
The
company breached the lending covenants governing its bank loans after
it ran into trouble in the US market. The business is thought to be
performing well in the UK market.
Alli has been seeking to restructure the business over the past few months but has failed to gain the support of the backers.
Chorion
is now likely to go to auction with a number of the same parties that
were approached about interest in Hit – such as Disney, Hasbro, Viacom
and children's entertainment mogul Haim Saban – likely to be approached.
Social Links