Walking on Sunshine, the irritatingly catchy 1985 pop hit by Katrina & the Waves, has been acquired by BMG, the Bertelsmann-owned music company, for £10 million.

As part of the deal, the German company, which declined to comment on the purchase price, has acquired the rights to every song written by Katrina & the Waves and the band's main songwriter, Kimberley Rew.

The catalogue includes Love Shine a Light, which won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, and Going Down to Liverpool, which was covered by US all- female band the Bangles.

But almost all of the UK band's music publishing income stems from Walking on Sunshine, a person familiar with the situation said.

The song was a hit on its release 30 years ago, reaching number 2 in the Irish singles chart and number 9 in the US. But since then it has become a cash cow, used in commercials, television programmes and movies ranging from High Fidelity to American Psycho, earning hefty royalties each time.

It generates an estimated $1 million a year in publishing income and has been covered by acts ranging from the Muppets to Dolly Parton.