Cookie Jar Entertainment is kicking the tires at Entertainment Rights, the troubled British maker of kids TV shows including Postman Pat and Basil Brush.

London-based Entertainment Rights on Thursday said it was in talks with its bankers for a short-term loan as it seeks a buyer. The move follows Christmas retail sales for its DVDs, toys and other merchandise that were ‘significantly below expectations,’ it added.

Cookie Jar offered no direct comment on a possible bid, except to say it was ‘a growth company that reviews all strategic opportunities in our fields of expertise: entertainment, consumer products and publishing.’

The Toronto-based cartoon producer is not alone. Rivals Hit Entertainment and the De Agostini Group are also understood to be in the running for the distressed British company.

Entertainment Rights, which has a catalog of around 3,600 hours of kids and family programming, has seen its market capitalization collapse from around $485 million in March 2007 to about $10 million, based on a current share price of 60 pence ($1.08) on the London Stock Exchange.

Cookie Jar, which last summer acquired Burbank-based DIC Entertainment for $87.6 million, faces a roadblock with a separate $195-million deal to acquire the Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and Sushi Pack properties from American Greetings.

That deal failed to close on Sept. 30, leaving Cookie Jar with an option until March 31 to match a new offer for the American Greetings assets, up to a pre-established threshold.

In an Oct. 8 regulatory filing, American Greetings stated it holds ‘the right to solicit offers from third parties to purchase the properties,’ which Cookie Jar may match.