Berlin - Knut, the hand-reared male polar bear which achieved world fame in 2007 as a cub, has been purchased for 430,000 euros (605,000 dollars), a Berlin newspaper said Tuesday.

The settlement, which surely makes the cub the world's most expensive polar bear ever, allows Knut to stay permanently at Berlin Zoo, which did not own the cute cub when it was put on show.

The newspaper, BZ, said the sum was agreed in a dispute with a tiny provincial zoo at Neumuenster that had claimed Knut under a contract to lend Knut's father, Lars, for mating.

The Neumuenster zoo sought a share of the proceeds from Knut merchandise and ticket sales, but judges instead advised Berlin Zoo to buy Knut outright to end the feud. BZ said there was haggling, but the figure had now been agreed.

Knut, now a lumbering adolescent, was raised by zookeepers after being rejected by the mother at birth in December 2006.(dpa)