Charlie Brown may not think very highly of himself. But an announcement Thursday that Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) will pay $457 million to acquire a majority stake in “Peanuts” shows that someone finds the 75-year-old comic strip character to be quite valuable.
AP Photo/Ben Margot
Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz in a 1995 photo. (Ben Margot/Associated Press)
Sony, which previously acquired 39% of Peanuts Holdings LLC in 2018, said it would purchase the full 41% stake held by Canada’s WildBrain Ltd., a 20-year-old, Toronto-based family entertainment company known for such brands as Strawberry Shortcake and the Teletubbies. The purchase gives Sony an 80% stake in “Peanuts,” with the remaining 20% still belonging to the family of Charles Schulz, who created the strip in October 1950.
“Sony has been an excellent partner on the Peanuts brand for many years, and we’re confident that Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang are in good hands,” said Josh Scherba, WildBrain’s president and CEO, in a Friday news release. As part of the agreement – described in the statement as “subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals” – WildBrain will continue to provide “key services” to the “Peanuts” brand. These include the production and distribution of animated content, such as a previously announced upcoming feature film, and management of the Snoopy YouTube channel.
Licensing rights to “Peanuts” and it characters will continue to be handled by the New York-based Peanuts Worldwide, a branch of Peanuts Holdings LLC.
Reached by The Press Democrat, Jean Schulz – a Santa Rosa resident and the widow of Charles Schulz, who died in 1989 – declined to comment on the deal, which she described as “still in progress.” Likewise, Melissa Menta, vice president of marketing for Peanuts Worldwide, said only that “As this is an ongoing transaction, we are not providing any comment beyond what has already been announced.”
Once the deal is approved, Peanuts Worldwide will become a subsidiary of the Sony Group, with Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) taking the lead in managing Peanuts Holdings LLC, working in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment.
“Since 2018, SMEJ has been proud to be part of the partnership behind ‘Peanuts,’ an iconic global entertainment brand with a 75-year legacy of delighting audiences worldwide,” said Shunsuke Muramatsu, the president and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan). “With this additional ownership stake, we are thrilled to be able to further elevate the value of the ‘Peanuts’ brand by drawing on the Sony Group’s extensive global network and collective expertise.”
Promising to pursue new opportunities to “ensure that ‘Peanuts’ remains a relevant and beloved presence across generations,” Muramatsu prioritized reaching and engaging new audiences, setting as a goal for his company a commitment to “sharing the timeless charm of the ‘Peanuts’ gang for years ahead.”
Describing the “Peanuts” brand as “enduring and iconic,” Ravi Ahuja – president and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment – said, “We value the deep collaboration we have with our SMEJ colleagues and look forward to building on their meaningful partnership with WildBrain and the Schulz family. With our combined strengths, we have the unique capability and extraordinary opportunity to protect and shape the future of these beloved characters for generations to come.”
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