Cuban tug-of-love child Elian Gonzalez meets Barney

While Hit Entertainment's Bob has only been around since April 1999, his BBC series is a huge success and spawned some �60m worth of Bob the Builder toys, videos and tapes in the UK alone.

Hit chief executive Peter Orton said the deal was "the perfect union between two leaders in the pre-school field".

Lucrative market

For Hit, having access to Barney gives it another widely recognised pre-school character for worldwide distribution and sales.

Barney will be shown on the PBS network in the US until at least 2007.

The acquisition will give double the Hit group's turnover and value the company at around $600m (�414m).

Bob the Builder has already entered the US market, acknowledged to be the world's biggest for children's entertainment, and has his own TV show on the other side of the Atlantic.

Lyrick's presence in the US will give Hit a chance to expand into this lucrative market with its other characters, including Percy the Park Keeper and Angelina Ballerina.

Texas-based Lyrick is one of the biggest family entertainment companies in the world, distributing TV shows, films, home videos, DVDs, books and toys.