As previously announced, The Mirage Group, owners of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TM) property, have sold the iconic brand to Nickelodeon - part of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B). 4Kids Entertainment (NYSE: KDE) has received a payment of approximately $9.75 million at the Closing in consideration of its agreement to terminate its right to serve as the merchandise licensing agent prior to the scheduled expiration of the representation agreement in 2012. 4Kids may also receive an additional $1 million upon expiration of the escrow relating to the transaction.
The sale of the Turtles property, which has achieved popularity across the world, comes in its 25th anniversary year, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles having made their debut in an eponymous comic by TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in May 1984. In the quarter century that followed, the Turtles brand embraced nearly every medium and product form: four of the most successful independent theatrical motion pictures of all time, over 350 half-hours of TV programming, top 10 all-time sales status for worldwide sales of toy action figures, and over 600 worldwide merchandise licensees.
