U.S. brand management company Iconix Brand Group Inc (ICON.O) is exploring a sale of its majority stake in Peanuts Worldwide LLC, which owns the rights to cartoon strip characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move comes three months after U.S. insurance company MetLife Inc (MET.N) dropped the Peanuts characters it had been using as mascots for more than 30 years – a blow to debt-burdened Iconix.

The characters, which include Lucy, Peppermint Patty and Pigpen, have attracted the interest of Chinese companies as well as other investors keen to snap up U.S. media and licensing assets, the people said this week.

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