Group Buys 85% of TV Animation Company DIC

Encino-based DIC Enterprises, a producer of animated television programs, has been acquired by an investor group led by company president and co-founder Andy Heyward.

The group, backed by the investment banking firm Bear, Stearns & Co., bought an 85% interest in the privately held firm from Radio Television Luxembourg, a European broadcasting conglomerate, which will retain the remaining shares along with co-founder Jean Chalopin.

DIC would not disclose the price of the buy-out, but Daily Variety, a trade magazine, estimated it at $65 million. Five-year-old DIC had sales of about $60 million in 1986, from shows including “Inspector Gadget,” “Heathcliff” and “Photon.”