Britain's most famous toy shop, Hamleys, has been sold to a French firm in a multi-million-pound deal.
Family-run Groupe Ludendo, which operates 300 toy stores across France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain, would not reveal how much it had paid for Hamleys but a £60 million price tag has previously been reported.
Hamleys was mainly owned by nationalised Icelandic bank Landsbanki, which took over Baugur's stake when the investment group collapsed in the recession.
Bracken, a private equity group run by financier David Rowland, one of Britain's richest men and a Tory party donor, owned a minority stake.
A deal with Ludendo was first rumoured in July this year with the £60m price tag mentioned. Jean-Michel Grunberg, chairman of Ludendo, said: "Hamleys will give us the platform to accelerate our international development starting with the UK and into new markets. We have every intention of maintaining this unique brand and what it stands for, and building on its successful international development."
Gudjon Reynisson, CEO of Hamleys, said: "The management team is very supportive of this transaction and we look forward to becoming part of this well established family business.
"Groupe Ludendo is a strong partner for Hamleys and we look forward to working with them on taking the fun, entertainment and theatre of Hamleys to new levels."
Hamleys has eight outlets in the UK and Ireland, including its seven-storey flagship store on London's Regent Street and its only Scottish site in the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow. It also has shops in Moscow, Cyprus and Copenhagen plus three in India and four in the Middle East.
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