Theatre impresario Joop van den Ende is considering selling a majority of his shares in Stage Entertainment and is in preliminary talks with a number of parties, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Wednesday.

Potential buyers include investment firms such as Providence CVC and BC Partners as well as companies from Britain and the US. They are set to value the company at €500m, the FD says.

Stage Entertainment hit the headlines last week with the announcement that its Dutch arm is taking over Albert Verlinde Entertainment from March 1. TV presenter Verlinde will head up the merged operation.

Stage Entertainment is active in several other EU countries and the US. The company booked net profit of €50m last year on turnover of €515m.