Happiness is taking control of a beloved comic strip.
Sony is buying a 41% stake in the Charles M. Schulz comic Peanuts and its characters including Snoopy and Charlie Brown from Canada’s WildBrain in a $457 million deal, the two companies said Friday.
The deal adds to Sony’s existing 39% stake, bringing its shareholding to 80%, according to a joint statement. The Schulz family will continue to own the remaining 20%.
“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,” Sony Music Entertainment President Shunsuke Muramatsu said.
Peanuts made its debut October 2, 1950, in seven newspapers. The travails of the “little round-headed kid” Charlie Brown and pals, including Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, and his pet beagle Snoopy, eventually expanded to more than 2,600 newspapers, reaching millions of readers in 75 countries.
The strip offers enduring images of kites stuck in trees, Charlie Brown trying to kick a football, tart-tongued Lucy handing out advice for a nickel, and Snoopy taking the occasional flight of fancy to the skies. Phrases such as “security blanket,” “good grief” and “happiness is a warm puppy” are a part of the global vernacular. Schulz died in 2000.
Sony acquired its first stake in Peanuts Holdings LLC in 2018 from Toronto-based WildBrain Ltd. In the December 19 transaction, Sony’s music and movie arms signed a “definitive agreement” with WildBrain to buy its remaining stake for $630 million Canadian dollars ($457 million).
Rights to the Peanuts brand and management of its business are handled by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Peanuts Holdings.
WildBrain also owns other kids’ entertainment franchises, including Strawberry Shortcake and Teletubbies.