A Potential Sale Of Peanuts Would Raise Millions For Iconix

Licensing company Iconix Brand Group Inc is pursuing a potential sale of its majority stake in Peanuts Worldwide LLC, which controls the rights to beloved cartoon characters including Snoopy and Charlie Brown, according to sources cited by Reuters.

The deal would provide a much-needed cash injection for Iconix, which has seen licensing income decline since 2014; it reported a net loss of $189 million in 2015.

Peanuts has remained one of Iconix's most reliable brands, netting an estimated $95 million in revenue last year and comprising nearly a quarter of its $379 million (2015 sales) business. Sales were boosted by a 2015 movie immortalization of the gang, which grossed $246.2 million worldwide and prompted a lift in merchandise sales.


No dollar amount for the deal has been revealed, but a purchase price could near $300 million, according to analyst estimates. The cash raised would likely be used to pay off Iconix's debt, which tallied $1.29 billion last year.

Read the rest at Forbes

Knott's News: Peanuts may be changing ownership soon. What to think?

Knott’s Berry Farm Partnering with VRstudios to Develop a One-of-a-Kind Virtual Reality Experience

VRstudios, a global virtual reality (VR) company offering commercial entertainment and enterprise solutions, announced today, a partnership with Knott’s Berry Farm and parent company, Cedar Fair, to design and install a specialized VR experience at the Southern California-based theme park.

Knott’s Berry Farm and Cedar Fair are recognized in the entertainment industry for their leadership in creative application of technology in their attractions. Cedar Fair’s Vice President of Strategic Growth, Christian Dieckmann, is leading the company’s pursuit of immersive and unique experiential technology through their relationship with VRstudios.

“Our collaboration with VRstudios to develop a new custom-built, immersive amusement experience at Knott’s Berry Farm is exciting for our customers and consistent with the memorable experiences they expect from our parks,” said Dieckmann. “We chose VRstudios for our inaugural free-roaming VR installation because of their successful track record providing VR globally for other location-based entertainment venues. No other VR company can offer a truly untethered multi-player experience. We believe the planned attraction will amaze our guests and encourage repeat visits.”

“It is rewarding to partner with entertainment visionaries who want to do something amazing with the new VR technology,” added Charles Herrick, Chief Executive Officer of VRstudios. “When clients want to push the limits beyond what is commonly available, it gets our entire team motivated because they know there will be an outlet for their innovation.”

Knott’s Berry Farm visitors will be able to enjoy the new VR experience for a small fee in addition to admission, beginning the second quarter of this year.

Read the rest at BusinessWire

Knott's News: Guess we know whats going in the old Laser Tag spot.

The doctor is in! Kristen Stewart poses with Peanuts character Lucy for breast cancer benefit at Knott's Berry Farm

The #ScreamAgainstBreastCancer benefit at the Los Angeles theme park Knott's Berry Farm got a celebrity drop-in when it was held Saturday night.

Kristen Stewart cut a casual chic look as she posed with a staff member dressed as Charles Schulz' Peanuts character Lucy Van Pelt.

The event brought its guests onto the Supreme Scream ride, and the 26-year-old settled herself into one of its seats, ready to be launched upward

Read the rest at the DailyMail

New souvenir refill station at Camp Snoopy now open

Knotts berry farm construction update 1/20/2017

Knott’s Berry Farm Photo Update – Pretty In Pink

The red and green of the holiday decor is coming down at a leisurely pace, and the park is looking pretty in pink before it starts turning purple with the return of the smash hit Boysenberry Festival in a few weeks. Welcome to Buena Park, home of Knott’s Berry Farm.

Read the rest at MiceChat

New Knott's Soak City slides have arrived

Yesterland: Disney Sneaks into Knott’s Berry Farm

A little bit of Disney has snuck into Knott’s Berry Farm. It has nothing to do with Disney character collectables at Virginia’s Gift Shop.

The skull and crossbones on Mission San Luis Rey, one of the California Mission dioramas that returned to Knott’s in late 2016, would not be there if it were not for Disney. Here’s the story.

Read the rest at Yesterland

State investigation into why Knott's Sky Cabin got stuck in air should take 2 or 3 months

A state agency has launched an investigation into why Knott’s Berry Farm’s Sky Cabin attraction became stuck last month 96 feet in the air, stranding 20 passengers and one operator and requiring a rescue by Orange County Fire Authority firefighters.

Representatives of Cal/OSHA, a state occupational safety and health agency, have gathered all of the physical evidence pertinent to the investigation, said Frank Polizzi, an agency spokesman.

The full investigation should take two to three months and reveal the cause of the stoppage. The report should also show if Knott’s could have prevented the ride’s breakdown.

Cal/OSHA has not cited the theme park for any wrongdoing, Polizzi said.

In the interim, Knott’s has voluntarily shut down the ride, in which a cabin ascends 300 feet into the air and spins slowly.

Read the rest at the OCRegister

Theme park crime: Counterfeiters prefer Disneyland; shoplifters like Universal Studios Hollywood

Disneyland’s 1955 opening was plagued by snafus, including the widespread distribution of counterfeit tickets.

More than 60 years later, security agents at the Anaheim theme park are on the lookout not only for phony tickets but for bogus money, too.

Police reports show that crime rates at Southern California theme parks are extremely low, but each park wrestles with unique crime problems such as shoplifting at Universal Studios Hollywood and car burglary at Knott’s Berry Farm.

Read the rest at LATimes

Knott's News: Damn, Knott's has some work to do. Yikes.

Knott's Berry Farm to auction off animatronics, memorabilia in March sale

A Model T Ford, Snoopy’s roadster and two hearses from Knott’s Berry Farm’s Halloween Haunt are among the memorabilia the more than 75-year-old theme park is auctioning off in March.

“We’re putting together an auction that represents the whole history of the farm,” said Jim Lentz of Heritage Auctions. More than 200 lots are planned.

Besides the vehicles, there will be western paintings by Paul von Klieben once displayed in the Knott’s Steakhouse. An 1893 painting by Henry H. Cross is nearly 10-feet wide.

Fans can bid on pieces from rides no longer at Knott’s, including animatronics bears from “Knott’s Beary Tales” and figures from the Timber Mountain Log Ride and the Calico Mine Train Ride before they were refurbished a few years ago.

Raffi Kaprelyan, vice president of Cedar Fair, owners of Knott’s, decided to hold the auction to make room at the park.

“The auction gives Knott’s the opportunity to share a bit of history with a global audience of collectors, historians and loyal Knott’s Berry Farm guests,” he said in a statement.

Read the rest at the OCRegister

Poll: What are you most excited for this year?

What are you most excited for at #Knotts this year? There's so much to look forward to at Knott's. https://t.co/EQtcO9xK7C

— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) January 4, 2017

Some Camp Snoopy refurbishment going on