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Case file s1860 · Literature and art · 1990
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1990
Roald Dahl: Uitreiking Gouden Griffel en Penseel in Utrecht. Roald Dahl (l) en Nannie Kuiper 13 oktober 1982
Roald Dahl. Hans van Dijk for Anefo. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
23 November 1990
Place
Great Missenden, England
Field
children's author (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda) · Literature and writing on the timeline
Legal tradition
English law (company sale) · Common law
Historical event
The streaming companies' race to buy children's story catalogues
Literature and artPostwarEuropeUnited Kingdom

Netflix bought the Roald Dahl Story Company in September 2021 for a reported 500 million pounds, about $686 million

Roald Dahl died in 1990 aged 74. His family kept control of his catalogue through the Roald Dahl Story Company, run by his grandson Luke Kelly as managing director. In September 2021 Netflix announced it had bought the company, which gave it the rights to the whole catalogue, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and The Witches. Neither side disclosed the price. The Financial Times reported about 500 million pounds, or $686 million, and other outlets repeated it. Kelly signed the announcement with Netflix's Ted Sarandos and said staff would benefit financially from the sale. How the sale proceeds were divided among Dahl's heirs is not documented†. The Dahl estate was a family business that sold the catalogue as a whole company, rather than licensing each title.

What the law took from it

A catalogue held in a company can be sold in one transaction, with no need for each heir to agree on each title.

Sources
  1. finance.yahoo.comPress
  2. axios.comPress
  3. c21media.netPress
  4. thewrap.comPress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Netflix bought the Roald Dahl Story Company in September 2021 for a reported 500 million pounds, about $686 million,” story s1860, https://www.celebrity.estate/roald-dahl-1990, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Literature and artPostwarEuropeCommon lawUnited Kingdom