Good grief! Peanuts Worldwide may be for sale, says Reuters

A New York company may sell its majority stake in the brand of the “Peanuts” comic strip characters, according to a report by Reuters.

Iconix Brand Group Inc. is considering a sale of its 80 percent share in Peanuts Worldwide, according to sources quoted by the news service. Peanuts Worldwide owns the rights to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the other characters created by longtime Santa Rosa cartoonist Charles M. Schulz.

Schulz, who moved to Sonoma County in 1958, died in 2000 after writing and drawing the “Peanuts” strip for nearly 50 years. His family owns the remaining 20 percent of Peanuts Worldwide.

The Reuters report suggested Iconix, whose extensive brand portfolio includes the Strawberry Shortcake character and Joe Boxer clothing line, was exploring the sale because it is “debt burdened.” Its most recent quarterly report listed long-term debt at $1.2 billion.

The company’s November filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission also suggested that the “Peanuts Brand” had been a major source of revenue growth during the first nine months of 2016.

The brand increased its revenues by $13.4 million in that period compared to a year earlier, “a result of strength from our licensees in Japan, a favorable exchange rate in the yen and strength from our home video licensee,” the company reported.

The home video revenue may relate to the 2015 release of “The Peanuts Movie,” which was co-written by Schulz’s son, Craig, and grandson Bryan. The movie grossed $246 million in global box office receipts, according to the movie tracking site Box Office Mojo.

Even with the bump in revenue from “Peanuts,” Iconix’s overall licensing revenue declined 1 percent for the nine-month period to $281.3 million.

When asked about a possible sale, Schulz’s widow Jean Schulz replied Tuesday in an email the family was referring questions to Iconix.

She is an investor in Sonoma Media Investments, which owns The Press Democrat.

Iconix didn’t respond to a request for comment. But Melissa Menta, a spokeswoman for Peanuts Worldwide, said by email that “we don’t comment on market speculation.”