Mattel is in the final stages of negotiating a £500 million deal to buy Hit Entertainment, the children’s media group behind Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine, from Apax Partners, according to The Financial Times. Apax had bought Hit Entertainment in 2005 for £489 million.

Hit’s portfolio includes Thomas the Tank Engine, Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam, and Pingu. The sale of Hit reportedly doesn’t include the group’s stake in Sprout, a U.S. channel for children.

The Wall Street Journal published a full article today on the possible deal.

HIT Entertainment has selected Fisher-Price, Inc. as the global master toy licensee for Angelina Ballerina, it was announced today.

The toy line will be based on the all-new CG animated series, Angelina Ballerina The Next Steps that sees the aspiring prima ballerina at a school for the performing arts where she is exposed to diverse styles of music and dance. The series, which launched in September 2009, currently airs in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and France, and is slated to launch in 30 more countries in 2010.

Fisher-Price, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc., plans to develop, manufacture and market a variety of toys, dolls and role play items for girls 4 to 7 years old for figures and dolls; playsets, dollhouses, and vehicles; plush toys; and preschool toys including electronic learning and developmental toys.

The line will be produced under the Mattel brand name, with the first items scheduled to launch in the US in fall 2010 exclusively at Target and Target.com. Fisher-Price will debut its Angelina Ballerina line at mass retailers in the rest of the world starting in 2011.

HIT Entertainment has reached agreements with several producers of live stage musicals to develop, produce, and tour new shows for HIT brands including Barney, Angelina Ballerina, and Thomas & Friends. All three shows are set to commence in the U.S. in the fall and will tour nationwide through 2011.

VEE Corporation has signed on to be the exclusive producer of Barney Live, writing, producing, and managing an all-new touring stage show for the purple dino in North America and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The music-filled show will feature Barney, BJ, Baby Bop, Riff, and other characters, and will reach families with children 2 to 5 years old.

Vital Theatre Company will bring Angelina Ballerina and her friends to life in a new original musical stage show. Angelina Ballerina The Musical will debut at the Vital Theatre in New York City on October 2 for a limited engagement and will travel around the U.S. and Canada in 2011. AEG/ThemeSTAR will bring Thomas & Friends Live On Stage to kids in the U.S. in fall 2010. Additionally, following on the heels of its second worldwide tour, Thomas will return to U.S. theatres with Thomas Saves The Day, featuring favorite engine friends, fun songs, positive lessons and exciting adventures for a new generation of aspiring engineers and their families.

Schedules and ticket information for all of these shows will be available via the new HIT Entertainment Live Events portal.

HIT Entertainment has signed new licensees to develop, manufacture, and market new Thomas & Friends products.

Tara Toys will develop a new arts and crafts line for the property including magnetic sets, rolling art desks, and activity cases; Think Wow Toys will launch a new line of Thomas & Friends pools, pool toys, and accessories; The Toy Workshop will create and distribute a full line of wooden Thomas & Friends room décor items; and Upper Deck has been appointed to produce collectible trading cards that will include pop-up, sticker, and temporary tattoo trading cards.

The agreement marks the first time HIT has worked with these four companies.

Additionally, according to The NPD Group, Inc., Thomas & Friends was the No. 1 license in the preschool toys category in the United States for the 9th consecutive year in 2009.

The NPD Group also reported that while the total traditional toy industry in the United States decreased slightly (0.8 perecnt) in 2009, overall Thomas & Friends preschool and infant sales increased by close to four percent (+4 percent).