Sony units complete purchase of WildBrain’s 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings, reaching 80% ownership

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, from public records. Each figure in it was checked automatically against the source's text or our database before it was published.

Sony Group filed a Form 6-K on Mar 3, 2026, the report a foreign company files with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, announcing the completion of an acquisition of additional equity in Peanuts Holdings LLC. Sony’s wholly owned subsidiaries Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. said they had indirectly acquired all of the approximately 41% equity interest that WildBrain Ltd., a publicly listed Canadian company, indirectly held in Peanuts Holdings. Sony said the purchase followed the definitive agreement announced on Dec 19, 2025. With the approximately 39% interest that Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) already held, the buyers indirectly owned 80% of Peanuts Holdings after the purchase, and it became a consolidated subsidiary of Sony. The family of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz kept its 20% stake in the Peanuts intellectual property.1^,2^,3^,4^,5^,6^,7^,8

The total purchase price was approximately 630 million Canadian dollars, or approximately 460 million U.S. dollars at a reference rate of 0.73 U.S. dollars to the Canadian dollar, subject to customary working capital and other adjustments. Sony said it expected to record a remeasurement gain as operating income in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2026, based on the fair value of the approximately 39% interest that Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) already held. It had put the estimated gain, about 45 billion yen, in the forecast it announced on Feb 5, 2026, and said it continued to evaluate the final amount.9^,10^,11^,12

Sony said Peanuts Worldwide LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Peanuts Holdings, would continue to handle the ownership of the rights to the Peanuts brand and the management of its business. The press release identified Shunsuke Muramatsu as president and group CEO of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Ravi Ahuja as president and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Josh Scherba as president and CEO of WildBrain.13^,14^,15^,16