Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Sony is taking a majority stake in the brand behind the Snoopy and Charlie Brown characters, handing the Japanese group control of a beloved US cartoon as it seeks to build out global entertainment franchises.
The company said on Friday that it would buy 41 per cent of Peanuts Holding, which owns the intellectual property created by cartoonist Charles Schulz, from Canada’s WildBrain for C$630mn (US$460mn).
The deal raises Sony’s total stake in Peanuts, which it began building in 2018, to 80 per cent, making it a subsidiary of the Japanese group. The Schulz family will continue to own the remaining 20 per cent, Sony said.
The deal is the latest move by Sony under a strategic shift to concentrate on entertainment and the creation of original content.
Sony is trying to stitch together its gaming, anime, film and music businesses to build global franchises. Big hits in recent years include The Last of Us, which was adapted from a PlayStation game into a popular television series, and the animated film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Peanuts, which first appeared as a comic strip in seven newspapers in 1950, has gone on to become a global household name, spawning toys, television specials, films and amusement park attractions.
“With this additional ownership stake, we are thrilled to be able to further elevate the value of the ʻPeanutsʼ brand by drawing on the Sony Groupʼs extensive global network and collective expertise,” said Shunsuke Muramatsu, chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment.
The character of Snoopy has a long history in Japan and was one of the inspirations for Hello Kitty, the global phenomenon owned by Sanrio, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, said Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World.
“Peanuts has been incredibly popular in Japan since the 60s, and Snoopy’s popularity directly inspired the creation of Hello Kitty, so there is a great symmetry in seeing a Japanese company acquire the brand,” said Alt.
“Snoopy taught Japan of the power of cute animal characters, and now that Japan dominates that space globally, it makes sense for them to acquire the origin, so to speak.”
