E.W. Scripps has sold its United Media Licensing unit, which handles licensing for the Peanuts brand, to Iconix Brand Group, which also controls licensing for such brands as Candie’s, Joe Boxer, London Fog, Ocean Pacific, and Fieldcrest.  The Schulz family is also taking a 20% stake in the unit, giving cartoonist Charles Schulz’s heirs a stake in the licensing beyond the royalty fees for the first time. 

The sales price was $175 million.  United Media-licensed merchandise generates over $2 billion in annual sales worldwide, mostly from the Peanuts property.  Over 20,000 new products are approved annually.