Kids

WildBrain has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings LLC ("Peanuts"), the holding entity for the Peanuts IP, to Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (together "Sony") for $630 million in cash (Canadian dollars).

Ownership of rights to the "Peanuts brand" and management of its business are handled by Peanuts Worldwide LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peanuts Holdings LLC. The family of Charles M. Schulz, creator of Peanuts, retains a 20% stake in the brand. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Net proceeds will fully repay WildBrain’s Senior Secured Credit Facility, leaving more than $40 million in cash surplus. These funds, together with interest savings and additional balance sheet capacity, will support growth in wholly owned franchises such as "Strawberry Shortcake" and "Teletubbies", expansion of the Company’s premium digital content network and advertising footprint (YouTube, FAST, AVOD), and investments in emerging technologies.

Under the agreement, WildBrain will remain a multi-year partner to "Peanuts", continuing as exclusive consumer products licensing agent through WildBrain CPLG across Europe, the Middle East, China and Asia Pacific (excluding Japan & ANZ); exclusive production studio for new Peanuts content, including a previously announced feature film under an expanded partnership with Apple TV renewed through 2030; and distributor of WildBrain-produced "Peanuts content", including management of the Snoopy YouTube channel.

Josh Scherba, President and CEO of WildBrain, said: "Over the past several years, we've successfully executed a strategy to drive growth for our own and partner entertainment properties… achieving a record high for the brand in fiscal 2025. Selling our stake in 'Peanuts' crystallizes the brand's value, eliminating our debt and providing capital flexibility to reinvest in high-growth, high-margin opportunities, especially for IP that we own outright, such as 'Strawberry Shortcake', 'Teletubbies' and others in our deep portfolio, such as 'Degrassi', 'Inspector Gadget' and more."

He added: "Sony has been an excellent partner on the 'Peanuts' brand for many years, and we're confident that Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang are in good hands… We look forward to working with them and the Sony team as valued partners to continue driving global growth for 'Peanuts' in the years to come."

Nick Gawne, WildBrain CFO, said: "This transaction marks a pivotal moment for WildBrain as we look to the future. By deleveraging, we can now redeploy cash flows from debt service into strategic investments that accelerate growth across our franchises and premium digital content network."