By Mark Seavy 

WildBrain’s sale of a 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings to Sony will sharpen focus on its wholly owned brands while giving the film studio another means for expanding in licensing. Sony previously acquired 39% of Peanuts in 2018 for $185 million. 

With the agreement, WildBrain will concentrate its attention on owned brands, including Strawberry Shortcake, Teletubbies, Inspector Gadget, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Degrassi, and others, CEO Josh Scherba said. 

Sony also recently acquired anime publisher Kadokawa Corp. and took a 2.5% stake in Tekken and Pac-Man owner Bandai Namco Group. 

The $457-million deal comes eight years after WildBrain paid Iconix Brands Group $347 million for an 80% stake in Peanuts. Iconix had acquired it from United Features Syndicate’s United Media in 2010 for $175 million. Under the terms of the Sony agreement, the Schulz family will continue to own 20% of Peanuts Holdings. For WildBrain, the sale will eliminate $50 million in annual interest payments on debt and produce a $40 million surplus, Scherba said. 

“This allows us to redirect our focus toward the areas where we can generate significantly higher returns, namely our fully-owned higher-margin franchises like Strawberry Shortcake and Teletubbies, and the opportunity in advertising across our premium digital network, including advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST),” Scherba told analysts during a conference call today.  

With owned IP “there is no leakage to co-owners, no structural sharing of downstream economics, and the full benefit of licensing, digital engagement, and content monetization accrues directly to WildBrain. Put simply, we earn more cash on an incremental $10 million of Strawberry Shortcake revenue than we do on an incremental $40 million of Peanuts revenue,” said Scherba.  

Under the agreement, WildBrain’s CPLG licensing agency will continue to represent Peanuts in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific regions. The company will focus on Strawberry Shortcake, which generated $14 million in consumer products revenue in the fiscal year 2025 that ended June 30 (up from $5 million the previous year), Scherba said. Teletubbies, meanwhile, produced $5 million in consumer products revenue during same period, an increase from $3 million. 

Overall, Strawberry Shortcake and Teletubbies generate about $200 million and $100 million in annual retail sales (which includes those by licensees), respectively, with longer term potential for $800 million and $1 billion, according to Scherba. 

Under an agreement with AppleTV, WildBrain has released Peanuts-related content across streaming series (three), specials (seven), and documentaries (two). A flim, which WildBrain first signed with Apple in 2023, is expected to be released in 2027. The most recent previous Peanuts film was released in 2015. 

“As we move through these steps, we are taking a hard look at how the business operates, how we go to market, how value is created across the organization,” WildBrain CFO Nick Gawne said. “As a result, we are implementing changes designed to improve focus, efficiency, and performance.” 

On the Sony side, Peanuts will gain access to film and licensing businesses that tend to work closer than other studios in packaging consumer products with content releases. The licensing group is headed by Jamie Stevens, EVP Global Consumer Products and Licensing, and is relatively streamlined compared to other studios with a reliance on agents in many markets.  

Peanuts itself has hundreds of licensees and is careful not to have overlapping products at retail. The brand generated a sharp rise in sales this year in marking its 75th anniversary.