It has had on its books some of the greatest names in English literature over the last century, from VS Pritchett and CS Forester, to Rebecca West and Ivy Compton-Burnett, but today, the name of the venerable 80-year-old literary agency Peters Fraser and Dunlop was poised to disappear in a takeover.
The move represents the denouement of a series of internal upheavals, more labyrinthine perhaps than any that could have been devised by one of its distinguished authors. PFD, based in Covent Garden, London, was rocked three years ago by the mass defection of many of its agents amid accusations of bad faith following a long-simmering row with its then CSS Stellar, a US sports agency. It has struggled to recover ever since.
PFD will now become part of a new company called The Rights House, owned by the public relations entrepreneur Matthew Freud and a rival agent Michael Foster.
The decision marks the end of the involvement of the former Sunday Times editor and politics pundit Andrew Neil, who led the consortium that purchased PFD for £4m two years ago. The Guardian understands he is stepping down as chairman and will not retain a stake in the company. The terms of the new deal have not been disclosed.
Nearly a third of the agency's current staff of 35 may lose their jobs. They were told of the takeover at a staff meeting this morning.
In a statement, Foster's MF Management said it expected "a number of premier UK agents" to join the new group, "strengthening the agency's reputation in both talent and literary management".
Although PFD held on to a number of its authors, including the historian Simon Schama, Sir Max Hastings, Twiggy, Julie Burchill and mainly Conservative politician-writers such as Chris Patten, William Hague and Douglas Hurd, its list has a slightly ageing feel and it has struggled to attract new talent.
Its dead authors list – Edmund Blunden, Benjamin Britten, Hillaire Belloc, Terence Rattigan, Hugh Trevor-Roper and Gavin Lyall – is more distinguished than that of its living authors.
When the bulk of its agents left in 2008 to set up the rival United Agents agency, they took many younger stars with them, including Nick Hornby, Anthony Horowitz, Ricky Gervais and Kate Winslet, as well as Tom Stoppard, Julian Barnes and Joanna Trollope.
Under the terms of the deal, Foster will merge his company with PFD and hold a controlling interest. Foster is agent to many celebrities, including Chris Evans, Billie Piper, Sam Neill, Julie Christie, Alan Davies, Laurence Fox and Bear Grylls.
Foster will now be the senior partner at the new company, along with PFD's current chief executive, Caroline Michel. Freud, the founder investor in MF Management, will become the largest non-executive shareholder of The Rights House.
PFD has struggled to recover after the upheaval of three years ago. The arguments, partly over ownership, pre-dated Michel's arrival as chief executive in 2007, but the situation degenerated, with a change of ethos, allegations of breach of contract, unfair dismissal and, most significantly, disputed ownership of back catalogues of books from its authors list.
At one stage, 11 agents, including some of PFD's best-known and longest-serving, were dismissed for gross misconduct.
Since then, PFD has tried to attract new star clients, particularly in television. However, one industry insider said: "They've not been able to generate a lot of new big names." One former PFD agent said: "It is strange to see it disappear after 80 years."
Neil said in a statement: "We are in discussions with Michael Foster about putting our two companies together because we think a combined operation has huge potential and we already share the same offices. Details have yet to be worked out and agreed but the current owners of PFD would most certainly retain substantial equity in any combined entity going forward".