Scholastic Acquires Rights to Gooosebumps From Parachute Press

Posted on January 17, 2003

Scholastic Corp. and Parachute Press, Inc. announced that Scholastic has acquired all worldwide rights to R.L. Stine's Goosebumps property and that they have settled all outstanding disputes and litigation between the parties. Scholastic had accused Parachute Publishing of using ghostwriters for some of the Goosebumps books and Parachute Publishing had accused Scholastic of not making payments.

Under the agreement, Scholastic is paying an aggregate of $9.65 million to acquire the Goosebumps trademark and all rights to publish existing and future Goosebumps books and develop and exploit the property on a worldwide basis in all media. Scholastic said the acquisition is expected to be earnings neutral in fiscal 2003.

Dick Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic, said "R.L. Stine and Parachute Press have created a series beloved by children around the world. Since its first publication almost 10 years ago, the Goosebumps series has motivated tens of millions of children to read. The Series has sold more than 250 million copies, and was the basis of a top-rated television series produced by Scholastic Entertainment. The Goosebumps franchise has enduring appeal to children and we are pleased that Scholastic will be able to continue to develop the franchise for years to come."