Netflix buys Roald Dahl Story Company

In what is said to be its largest acquisition, Netflix has bought the company with the rights to beloved children’s stories.

After feverish speculation a deal was close, Netflix has confirmed it bought the Roald Dahl Story Company.

The acquisition gives the streaming company exclusive rights to the stories and characters of the beloved children’s author, who died in 1990.

Dahl was the author of classics including Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches and Fantastic Mr Fox. His works have been published into 63 languages and have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.

Netflix and the Roald Dahl Story Company had an existing partnership since 2018 in which the streamer licenced several titles for adaptations. At the time The Hollywood Reporter claimed sources said that deal was worth nine figures while it pegged the whole catalogue at between $US500 million and $US1 billion.

The cost of the outright acquisition of the Roald Dahl Story Company has not been revealed, but Bloomberg reported it’s set to be Netflix’s most expensive acquisition.

It comes at a time when entertainment studios are increasingly relying on the value of existing intellectual property and franchises to attract audiences.

Previously, Disney spent billions acquiring Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm.

Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

In 2020, Netflix revealed it was working with Kiwi filmmaker Taika Waititi on two animations, the first based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory while the second was to be a spin-off series called Oompa-Loompas.

Netflix is also working with Sony and Working Title on an adaptation of Matilda the Musical.

In a joint statement from Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos and Roald Dahl Story Company managing director and Dahl’s grandson Luke Kelly, the pair said: “These projects opened up our eyes to a much more ambitious venture – the creation of a unique universe across animated and live action films and TV, publishing, games, immersive experiences, live theatre, consumer products and more.

“These stories and their messages and their messages of the power and possibility of young people have never felt more pertinent.

“As we bring these timeless tales to more audiences in new formats, we’re committed to maintaining their unique spirit and their universal themes of surprise and kindness, while also sprinkling some fresh magic into their mix.”

Meryl Streep was one of the voice actors in Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation adaptation of Fantastic Mr Fox. (AP Photo/Starpix, Amanda Schwab)

Bloomberg reported the deal is an outlier for a company that has made fewer than 10 acquisitions in the past decade.

Dahl’s books and stories have been the basis of several well-known projects in the past, including the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Anjelica Houston’s The Witches and the Wes Anderson adaptation of Fantastic Mr Fox.

Matilda the Musical, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, has been a commercial and critical success.

Separately, there is currently a Charlie and the Chocolate Factorylive action adaptation in the works at Warner Bros, focused on a young Willy Wonka to be played by Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet.

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