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Penguin UK c.e.o. Tom Weldon has said he expects at least 15% of Penguin's profit this year to come from its Penguin Ventures programme, dedicated to exploring new IP opportunities in children's publishing.
Penguin Ventures will see the publisher link with different partners to develop its brands beyond traditional books.
Weldon said: "It is a shift in business strategy about how and where we are going to make money in children's. In the past, we have been buying book format rights, now what we are doing is increasing in the children's area broader property rights, so we can do TV, animations, apps, games, and virtual products."
So far, Penguin has bought the total rights to Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit, with a 52-part animation in production, as well as to Raymond Briggs's The Snowman. Partners include the BBC, Nickelodeon, and clothing store The Gap.
Weldon said the publisher was also working on "an exciting project - an online game, along the lines of Moshi Monsters."
In addition, Penguin is bringing its merchandising range of branded products in-house. Communications director Rebecca Sinclair said: "After working closely with Art Meets Matter and Wild & Wolf for a number of years, Penguin is bringing production of its core merchandising range in-house... At the same time, as part of our work to extend the Penguin brand, we are exploring strategic licensing partnerships."