Eason & Sons, the stationery and bookshop group, has acquired Fred Hanna's Nassau Street, Dublin, store which employs 37 people, for an undisclosed sum. The Hanna family, which controls Fred Hanna Ltd, will retain its second outlet, operated by The Campus Bookshop, located at University College, Dublin. The name Fred Hanna, synonymous with book selling in Ireland for over four generations, is to be retained by Eason. While the Nassau street branch has not been officially on the market, it has had more intense competition from Waterstone Bookshop and from the rapidly expanding services available on the Internet.

It has has had a number of approaches. A spokesman for Hanna said the family wanted to keep it in Irish hands. Mr Fred Hanna Snr said this latest offer "assures me that our Nassau Street outlet can continue to deliver the quality of service we have consistently delivered over the last 90 years, well into the next millennium". He also noted that the deal "enables the Irish book selling industry to continue to strengthen its interest in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market of large multi-nationals". Mr Michael Ryder, managing director of Eason & Son, said his group had wanted a bookshop south of the Liffey in Dublin for many years. He described it as an "amicable agreement" and the purchase will become effective on April 26th.

Ms Judy Hanna, a director of Fred Hanna Ltd, is to concentrate on the academic side of the family business, as managing director of The Campus Bookshop.