EM.TV & Merchandising will struggle to profit from its sale of The Jim Henson Company, the US outfit with the rights to the Muppet Show, according to analysts and advisers close to the deal.

EM.TV, the German media and retail group, confirmed Tuesday that it was considering selling the company. Last March, it paid $680m (€743.8m) for Henson, 50% in cash with the rest in the form of six million new EM.TV shares. At the time many analysts thought EM.TV was paying over the odds.