By KENICHIRO SHINO/ Staff Writer
December 20, 2025 at 11:49 JST
The Peanuts gang ©Peanuts Worldwide LLC (Provided by Sony Group Corp.)
Sony Corp. is expanding its ownership of the “Peanuts” franchise, home to Snoopy and Charlie Brown, to 80 percent in a deal worth about 71 billion yen ($470 million), the company said Dec. 19.
To strengthen Sony’s global entertainment portfolio, two of the tech giant’s subsidiaries, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Sony Pictures Entertainment, will acquire a 41-percent stake in Peanuts Holdings from Canadian media company WildBrain.
Combined with an existing 39-percent stake held by SME, the move will increase Sony’s total ownership to about 80 percent, making the company a consolidated subsidiary.
The family of “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz will retain the remaining 20-percent stake.
SME first invested in Peanuts Holdings in 2018, and the latest announcement signals a deeper push by Sony to expand its intellectual property business and further solidify its focus on entertainment.
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