Iconix Explores Peanuts Sale

The brand management company is also looking to sell the Strawberry Shortcake brand.

Iconix Brand Group has revealed that it is exploring a sale of its majority stake in Peanuts Worldwide, which owns the rights to characters like Snoopy and Charlie Brown, according to Reuters.

The characters, which also include Lucy, Peppermint Patty and Pigpen, have attracted Chinese companies as well as other investors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Reuters also reports the sale interest comes three months after MetLife, a U.S. insurance company, dropped the characters it had been using as mascots for more than 30 years.

Additionally, Iconix is also looking to sell the Strawberry Shortcake brand.

Iconix is the fourth largest licensor in the world, according to License Global’s annual Top 150 Global Licensors report, with $13 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandise worldwide in 2015. Furthermore, in 2015, Peanuts was the company’s largest brand in terms of licensing revenue.

The strength of Peanuts was driven by the launch of the Peanuts movie, which was supported by 25 national promotional and marketing partnerships including programs with McDonald’s, Nestle Crunch, All Laundry detergent, Met Life and Hallmark; eight halo collaborations with fashion, lifestyle and sports brands including The Gap, Pottery Barn Teen and Lesportsac; and multiple national retail partnerships with retailers including Target and Toys “R” Us.

If sold, Peanuts and Strawberry Shortcake will join Iconix’s recent sells, including The Sharper Image Brand, which the ThreeSixy Group bought at the beginning of the year.

Iconix EVP and CFO Dave Jones will be the keynote speaker on day one of the NYC Licensing Summit, March 2.
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