Sony is buying a majority stake in the Peanuts franchise, which includes world famous cartoon characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown.
Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) and Sony Pictures Entertainment have agreed to acquire Canadian media company WildBrain’s entire 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings LLC for 630 million Canadian dollars (approx. $460 million). After the deal closes, Sony will own an 80% equity interest in Peanuts (it already owns 39%), and Peanuts will become a consolidated subsidiary of Sony. The members of the family of Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, will continue to own the remaining 20%. SMEJ will take the lead in managing Peanuts Holdings LLC in partnership with SPE.
Announcing the deal, Sony described Peanuts as a “world-class IP.” Shunsuke Muramatsu, President and Group CEO, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), said: “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. 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 Groupʼs extensive global network and collective expertise.
“We are deeply committed to carrying forward the legacy of Charles Schulz and the Schulz family. Together with SPE, and backed by WildBrainʼs continued partnership, we will continue to embrace new opportunities to ensure that Peanuts remains a relevant and beloved presence across generations — reaching new audiences and sharing the timeless charm of the Peanuts gang for years ahead.”
Schulz’s comic strip began life in 1950, when Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts crew appeared across several U.S. newspapers. Currently, Peanuts animated shows are available on Apple TV, with ongoing comic strips and a mountain of merch fleshing out the franchise. The Snoopy YouTube channel has 750,000 subscribers.
Animated film The Peanuts Movie (known in some countries as Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie) launched in 2015, starring the voices of Noah Schnapp as Charlie Brown and, via archival recordings, Bill Melendez as Snoopy and Woodstock. It was the first Peanuts film in 35 years, and made $246.2 million at the global box office.
In November 2023, a new Peanuts film was announced to be in development, due to be released exclusively on Apple TV.
Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
