Tag Archives: sony music entertainment

Sony Gets Majority Stake in Peanuts in $457 million Deal

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Peanuts

Sony is paying quite a few Peanuts to gain more stake in Charles M. Schulz‘s beloved Peanuts. Sony Music Entertainment already has a 39% stake in the property and have entered into an agreement with WildBrain to indirectly acquire the 41% stake it has in Peanuts Holdings LLC.

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment will pay WildBrain about $457 million for their 41%. That gives Sony 80% of Peanuts Holdings LLC while the family of Charles M. Schulz will continue to own the remaining 20%. The management of the business will be handled by Peanuts Worldwide, a subsidiary of Peanuts Holdings LLC. With the 80%, Peanuts Holdings LLC and Peanuts Worldwide will become a consolidated subsidiary of Sony.

WildBrain will use the deal to eliminate 100% of its debt and focus on growing its Strawberry Shortcake and Teletubbies franchises and invest in content. It will also remain a partner of Sony’s producing Peanuts content and managing the Snoopy YouTube channel. It will also be the exclusive licensing agent for consumer products in all current territories across across Europe, the Middle East, China, and Asia Pacific (excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand). It will also operate an exclusive production studio for new Peanuts content including a previously announced animated film.

Peanuts debuted on October 2, 1950 by Charles M. Shulz in seven newspapers and went on to become a classic beloved property. At the time of his death in 2000, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers with a readership of roughly 355 million across 75 countries and has been translated into 21 languages. It has spun out into television specials, toys, comics, and so much more.

The deal s subject to certain closing conditions as well as regulatory approvals.

Transformers-Inspired Album Out Now

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Transformers Roll Out (cymk)Transformers… roll out! Today Hasbro Studios and Sony Music Entertainment have released of Transformers Roll Out, an alt-rock tribute to the wildly popular hit Hasbro Transformers franchise.

Transformers Roll Out heralds the global pop-culture Transformers phenomenon, featuring a collection of hit original songs inspired by the Hasbro Transformers franchise from leading established and up-and-coming alternative, rock and alt-pop artists, morphing together to create an epic portfolio of hard-hitting tunes that truly embodies the soul of the Hasbro Transformers brand. The album includes tracks from the chart topping rock band ‘Bush’ and front man Gavin Rossdale, lending powerhouse vocals in “This House is on Fire,” as well as up-and-coming alt-rock group Mount Holly, who provided the album’s lead title track “Roll Out.” Transformers Roll Out is being released on Sony Music’s RED Associated labels and is available for digital purchase now at iTunes.

Artists contributing to Transformers Roll Out include:

Transformers Roll Out is available on all major digital providers and the limited edition CD and vinyl is for sale exclusively through FYE stores.