The "Peanuts" gang has new owners, in a $175 million deal that gives the family of Santa Rosa cartoonist Charles M. Schulz a bigger share — and more control — of his comic legacy.
E.W. Scripps Co. said Tuesday it is selling its "Peanuts" character licensing business to Iconix Brand Group, with the Schulz family buying a 20 percent share of the new company.
"We're very excited to be in this new partnership," said Jean Schulz, the cartoonist's widow and president of Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, a Santa Rosa company that helps manage licensing of Peanuts characters.
The deal will give Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy more presence on new media platforms, including fan websites, she said.
"Iconix has a lot of energy to do some things that will make a difference," Schulz said.
The new partnership also provides the Schulz family more control over who can license "Peanuts" characters, said Craig Schulz, the cartoonist's son and CEO of Creative Associates. "We finally own rights to the characters," he said.
Charles M. Schulz was careful about how his creations were used in marketing, Jean Schulz said.
"From the beginning, my husband worked directly with the people using his art to preserve the authenticity of his characters," she said.
The family will pay $35 million for a 20 percent share of the Iconix subsidiary.
New York-based Iconix owns and licenses fashion brands, including Joe Boxer, London Fog, Ocean Pacific, Candie's, Badgley Mischka, Starter, Danskin and Mudd.
The acquisition helps Iconix reach new markets, CEO Neil Cole said.
"Owning the &‘Peanuts' business moves Iconix well beyond fashion into a true global brand management entity," he said.
Iconix will own 80 percent of the new venture.
"Peanuts" has more than 1,200 licensing agreements with companies, including MetLife, Hallmark, Universal Studios, Warner Bros., Cedar Fair, H&M, Benetton, Old Navy, CVS and Walgreens. The brand is licensed in more than 40 countries and drives annual retail sales topping $2 billion, with more than 24,000 new products approved each year.
Iconix said it expects to generate $75 million a year in royalty revenue from the "Peanuts" gang.
In addition to its stake in the new company, the Schulz family retains a share of revenues from the use of "Peanuts" characters.
Scripps, which has syndicated the "Peanuts" comic strip in newspapers since 1950, continues to hold the syndication rights.
At the time of Charles Schulz's death in 2000, the strip was read by 355 million people worldwide. He drew the feature in his Santa Rosa studio for more than 30 years.
The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center opened near his studio in 2002.
The Schulz family will have a key role in the new licensing business, Cole said.
"Their passion and insight will be invaluable to the future success of the &‘Peanuts' brand," he said.
Iconix brings resources that will help the brand grow, Craig Schulz said.
"
&‘Peanuts' now has the best of both worlds, family ownership and the vision and resources of Iconix," he said. The partnership promises "to perpetuate what my father created throughout the next century with all the goodwill his lovable characters bring," he said. Scripps, which publishes newspapers and owns TV stations, said in February it was looking for a buyer for its character licensing business. Scripps didn't say how it would use the sale proceeds, but it had $10.4 million in debt on its balance sheet at the end of the first quarter. The all-cash deal is expected to close by the end of June.
The partnership promises "to perpetuate what my father created throughout the next century with all the goodwill his lovable characters bring," he said.
Scripps, which publishes newspapers and owns TV stations, said in February it was looking for a buyer for its character licensing business.
Scripps didn't say how it would use the sale proceeds, but it had $10.4 million in debt on its balance sheet at the end of the first quarter.
The all-cash deal is expected to close by the end of June.
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