The entertainment industry appears to be one of the main players on the M&A agenda this holiday season – see the battle between Netflix and Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros. Discovery . And now, the Sony group is also shaking things up on this calendar.
The Japanese conglomerate announced an agreement to buy the 41% stake held by the Canadian company Wildbrain in Peanuts Holdings, which owns the rights to Peanuts, the classic franchise of characters Snoopy, Charlie Brown and company, created by Charles M. Schulz.
With the transaction, which will be carried out through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony will pay 630 million Canadian dollars (US$457 million) to take control of the operation – the company already owned 39% of Peanuts. The remaining 20% will remain in the hands of the Schulz family.
“With this additional participation, we are excited to be able to further enhance the value of the Peanuts brand, leveraging the extensive global network and collective experience of the Sony group,” said Shunsuke Muramatsu, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, in a statement.
In partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment will take over management of Peanuts. With the agreement, the company is valued at approximately US$1 billion and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sony group.
“Peanuts is a timeless classic,” said Ravi Ajuha, president of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “With our combined strengths, we have a unique ability and an extraordinary opportunity to protect and shape the future of these beloved characters for generations to come.”
The Japanese giant emphasized that, since becoming a partner of Peanuts in 2018, it has focused on expanding its intellectual property business and strengthening the brand, "maintaining and deepening" its positive relationship with the Schulz family.
In October of this year, in one of the most recent agreements involving the brand, Peanuts renewed its licensing and exclusivity contract with Apple TV+ until October 2030. The deal also included a partnership for the development of new content for the franchise.
From Sony's perspective, the transaction announced today reinforces its commitment to the entertainment segment. At the end of 2024, for example, the company invested 50 billion yen (approximately US$320 million) to take control of Kadokawa, a media group that owns businesses such as FromSoftware studios.
Back in July of this year, the company announced the acquisition of a 2.5% minority strategic stake in Bandai Namco, owner of franchises such as Dragon Ball, Pac-Man, Tekken, and Elden Ring. The deal was closed for 68 billion yen (approximately US$460 million).
Along the same lines, three months later, Sony announced that it was splitting up its finance division precisely to concentrate a large part of its efforts on its games and entertainment businesses.
In its most recent figures, relating to the second fiscal quarter ended September 30, the company reported a net profit of 311.4 billion yen (US$2.02 billion), a year-on-year increase of 6.7%. Net revenue grew 4.6% to 3.1 trillion yen (US$20.8 billion).
In its earnings release, Sony raised its profit forecast for the consolidated fiscal year to 1.05 trillion yen, compared to its previous guidance of 970 billion yen. The justification for the revision was the strong performance of its music and image sensor businesses.
Sony's shares closed the day on the Tokyo Stock Exchange down 1.53%. By 2025, the company's shares are projected to appreciate by 18.5%. The company is valued at 23.8 trillion yen (approximately US$152.9 billion).
