Sony Group Corp.’s music and pictures units plan to spend around $460 million to take control of the company housing the classic Peanuts brand, created by Charles M. Schulz , expanding the Tokyo-based group’s reach in content.
Sony Music Entertainment Japan Inc. and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. will together indirectly acquire a roughly 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings LLC from WildBrain Ltd. for 630 million Canadian dollars, making it a Sony subsidiary, the Japanese company said in a statement Friday. That would expand Sony’s ownership over the home of beloved icons Snoopy and Charlie Brown to an indirectly held 80% stake, while members of Schulz’s family will hold the remaining 20%, pending regulatory approval.