Looking rosy: Entertainment One acquisition is just the ticket

Entertainment One, the London-listed film distributor behind the hit Twilight teenager vampire movies, has bought an Australian peer for A$20 million (£12.9m).

Hopscotch - which distributed films including Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona starring Penlope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall, and Beginners with Ewan McGregor - was founded in 2002 and is based in Sydney.

During 2010, the firm released 15 titles in cinemas and will this year release Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which is already showing in the UK.

The Australian company has more than 300 films and television series in back catalogue, including UK shows The Inbetweeners, The Catherine Tate Show and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

The takeover is part of Entertainment One's strategy to build up its overseas business, which already includes Canada, Europe and United States.