Sony Music Entertainment of Japan and Sony Pictures Entertainment of Sony Group announced on Monday that they signed a deal to acquire a 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings owned by Canadian content company Wildbrain for C$630 million. When the deal is finalized, Sony will add an additional 39% stake to its existing stake to secure an 80% stake in Peanuts Holdings. Peanuts Holdings will also become a subsidiary of Sony. However, the 20% stake held by descendants of Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts, will remain the same.
Recently, Sony has been stepping up efforts to expand its character business. “As a partner of Peanuts in 2018, Sony has been striving to expand its brand value,” said Shunsuke Muramatsu, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment in Japan. “By securing the stake, we will further increase the brand value of Peanuts by utilizing Sony Group’s global network and content production capabilities.”
Until now, Snoopy has been so popular in the region that it is considered a national character in Japan. The Pinnuts series, which started as a four-cut cartoon series in 1950 has been loved by Japanese media since it became known to Japan in the 1960s. Snoopy is said to have influenced Japanese content companies in developing various animal characters.
It is not the first time that Sony has acquired IP, a well-known American pop culture. Sony Pictures Entertainment holds the rights to Spider-Man and Ghostbusters. K-Pop Demon Hunters, one of the biggest buzz stories of the year, was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and sold the movie rights to Netflix.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
