Japanese electronics large Sony has formally taken majority management of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts franchise. The acquisition is valued at £340 million (~RM1.86 billion), and consists of two of the franchise’s hottest characters, Snoopy and Charlie Brown.
Sony reportedly purchased 41% of Peanuts Holdings from WildBrain, the Canadian kids’s leisure firm. In doing so, it raises Sony’s stake within the Peanuts franchise to 80%. The Shulz household owns the remaining 20%.
“With this extra possession stake we’re thrilled to have the ability to additional elevate the worth of the Peanuts model by drawing on Sony Group’s in depth world community and collective experience,” Shunsuke Muramatsu, the chief govt of Sony Music Leisure, mentioned.
The acquisition is indicative of a bigger scheme by the PlayStation proprietor; it started its acquisition of the Snoopy firm again in 2018. The primary comedian appeared again within the Fifties, and continued till Schulz’s demise in 2000. Since then, the franchise has change into world and spanned TV, toys, movies, and theme park points of interest. In 2015, the Peanuts Film made its debut, however that was made by twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios on the time.
With the Peanuts franchise now squarely beneath its belt, it’s possible that any firm wanting to make use of the IP, be it for movie or merchandising, will now should pay Sony, in addition to the Schulz household, a licensing price earlier than they will achieve this. For that matter, we are able to additionally count on Sony to start engaged on new reveals, with Snoopy and Charlie Brown on the forefront.
(Supply: The Guardian)
