Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Sony Pictures Entertainment now officially own 80 percent of the Peanuts franchise. The companies closed the deal, officially Office has partnered in December 2025 when it was still subject to regulatory approvals, for $460 million. Sony Music Japan owned 39 percent of Peanuts as of 2018, so Sony’s subsidiaries essentially bought 41 percent of the franchise from Canadian firm WildBrain in this transaction. Now that the acquisition is complete, Peanuts is officially an integrated subsidiary of Sony.

The Peanuts universe began as comic strips by Charles M. Schulz back in 1950. Its characters, especially Charlie Brown and his pet dog Snoopy, have been household names ever since. One cannot say “Good grief!” that has nothing to do with Charlie Brown. The franchise has grown significantly since Peanut’s inception, spawning a string of animated series, cartoon musicals and movies, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas and Snoopy The Musical.