‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Owner Reportedly Shopping Franchise for $300 Million

Bagdasarian Productions, the owner of the Alvin and The Chipmunks franchise, is on the hunt for a potential buyer. 

According to CNBC, the company, owned by Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and his wife Janice Karman, have been shopping the production company around to potential buyers, and are asking for around $300 million. The potential buyer could be ViacomCBS, though people close to the matter told CNBC that the negotiations were ongoing and that no one has yet agreed on terms.

The negotiations come as the streaming wars between Paramount+, HBO Max, Netflix, and others continue to heat up. These streaming giants in particular have been hunting for intellectual property in recent months to add to their slates. In September, Netflix reportedly paid over $700 million for the entire catalog of Roald Dahl, the author who wrote iconic children’s books like James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

The massive purchase arrived three years  after the streaming company signed a deal to create new animated shows based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, and Matilda. “Excited to announce that the Roald Dahl Story Company (RDSC) and Netflix are joining forces to bring some of the world’s most-loved stories to current and future fans in creative new ways,” Netflix wrote in a tweet before quoting Charlie. “We are now about to visit the most marvellous places and see the most wonderful things.”

Alvin and the Chipmunks was a beloved children’s cartoon created by Bagdasarian Jr.’s father back in 1958, and it remained a relevant franchise into the 2000s. Four live-action films were made out of Alvin and the Chipmunks, the most recent one being Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip in 2015.