A literary and talent agency representing many of Britain's best known authors and actors is coming to the stock market in a deal worth up to £22m.

Peters, Fraser & Dunlop, of Covent Garden, London, traces its roots to 1924. It is being taken over by CSS Stellar, a sports-focused agency which looks after television presenters Michael Parkinson and Anne Robinson.

CSS Stellar, which listed on Aim last year, is paying an initial £11.9m in a mixture of cash, shares and loan notes. A further £10.1m could be paid depending on whether PFD meets performance criteria.

"We have spent a considerable amount of time seeking the right acquisition in a fragmented sector," said CSS Stellar's chairman, John Webber. "This acquisition will grow substantially the entertainment business within the group and provides an excellent platform from which to expand and create further opportunities."

PFD, which typically earns revenue through commission generated by its 28 agents, had turnover of £6.6m in the year to March 2001 and £1.2m pretax profits. The company has a proprietary interest in the estate of Evelyn Waugh.

Present day clients include writers Alan Bennett, Richard Curtis, Robert Harris and Nick Hornby, and actors Kate Winslet, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

CSS Stellar shares closed up 11p at 289.5p.

Several sports and entertainment agencies have become fashionable among investors during the last year and several raised money through stock market flotation.

Football-driven agencies have been been the most aggressive.