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Partners with Schulz family on latest acquisition
Fashion licensing company Iconix Brand Group Inc. (New York) will purchase the famed Peanuts brand, in partnership with the Schulz family. Iconix will pay $140 million to United Features Syndicate Inc. and the E.W. Scripps Co. for its 80 percent share of the brand, which generates annual retail sales of more than $2 billion. The Schulz family will pay $35 million as part of the deal.
“Peanuts is considered one of the most influential comic strips of all time,” says Iconix ceo Neil Cole, according to Crains New York. “Owning the Peanuts brand moves Iconix well beyond fashion into a true global brand management entity with a wide variety of agreements that range from theme parks to media to financial institutions.”
Cole says he expects Peanuts, and its accompanying licensing and character representation business, to generate $75 million in annual royalty revenue.
Iconix began as shoe company Candie's Inc. in the 1990s. Five years ago, it became Iconix and developed into a diversified firm with over 20 brands, including Badgley Mischka, London Fog and Marc Ecko Enterprises. The company recently reported revenue for the quarter ended March 31 rose 42 percent to $71.7 million.
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