Dove Entertainment Inc. founders Michael Viner and Deborah Raffin sold the company last week to new owners, who must now work to put the company on a more solid footing, analysts said.

Media Equities Entertainment International, a partnership of investors led by former Viacom executives, invested $4 million in Dove to take control of the company. Representatives from the group did not return telephone calls.

The Viners known for releasing tell-all scandal books on people like O.J. Simpson will still be consultants for the company they began 12 years ago.

Stephen Lewis, an analyst with Duff & Phelps credit rating agency, said Media Equities must quickly stabilize the company’s finances. This will be one of the only ways to maintain the public company’s stock prices.

“Investors do care about reputation, but they are also deeply concerned about financial returns that the ship is being run tightly,” he said. “The new owners need to come up with a solid financial plan to overcome recent difficulties.”

The company reported a net loss of $3.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared to net income of $501,000 for the like period a year ago.

The drop was attributed to the delay of book and audio tape releases because of a shortage of capital, according to the company.

Other troubles stemmed from the controversial topics of their releases including the Hollywood prostitution related “You’ll Never Make Love in This Town Again” which entangled the company in myriad lawsuits.