Dederichs Reinecke & Parnter of Hamburg is helping Paul's home, the Sea Life Center in Oberhausen, Germany, deal with international media attention and potential suitors for the two-year-old cephalopod, including a Russian bookmaking company which bid more than $129,000 this week.
The PR firm told CNN that the aquarium is rebuffing the offer and will not sell Paul, who, not surprisingly, has become a national hero in Spain.Spain's Prime Minister offered (tongue-in-cheek, we hope) to send a security team to protect Paul from any bitter Germans after his World Cup final forecast. After Spain won, a businessman from O Carabillino, Spain, offered to buy Paul for 25K Euro, an overture which was turned down.
The Madrid Zoo has proposed an exchange for Paul to be sent over on a temporary or permanent basis, but the Sea Life Center doesn't appear to like that deal either.
Said Kerstin Kuhn, an "improver" at the Hamburg PR firm representing Paul's home: "It's totally out of the question to sell Paul or lend him out. Paul will enjoy his greatly deserved retirement in Sea Life in Oberhausen."
(Image: Telegraph)