Intellectual property rights outfit Chorion, the owner of kiddies cartoon character Noddy, has defended its decision to look for a buyer for its children's rights division and thereby reject an initial approach for the entire company from Entertainment Rights, the owner of Postman Pat. Chairman Nick Tamblyn claims Chorion's decision to look for a buyer for the children's arm - he has a target price of £30m for this division alone - is based on the simple fact that he believes its sale will achieve 'a substantially greater value' for shareholders than Entertainment Rights was offering for the entire Chorion operation. Since Chorion was demerged from clubs and bars group Urbium this year its shares have slumped from 11p to a low of 3.25p following a profit-warning, various contract delays and bad debts. This fall is no doubt what prompted Entertainment Rights to write to Chorion's board in October expressing its interest in making a bid for the company at above its then market price. Tamblyn backed-up Chorion's decision to go public for a buyer by claming that a Noddy video had sold 23,762 units in its first week of sale, a morning TV programme (called Make Way for Noddy) was achieving commendable viewing figures on Channel 5, and that the adult entertainment arm was making considerable progress with 3 Poirot movies due to be delivered next year. With these facts in mind, there is no doubt that Chorion has the potential to deliver profits to investors who believe the break-up value of the group will easily exceed its current £22m market capitalisation. Buy/Hold.