From Reebok to Care-a-Lot: An Unexpected New Portfolio for Authentic Brands Group

Authentic Brands Group has agreed to acquire the intellectual property of Care Bears, adding one of the most commercially durable character brands in the world to a portfolio that already includes Reebok, Elvis Presley, Shaquille O’Neal and David Beckham. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

According to a press release, Care Bears has an unusual biography for an entertainment franchise. It started in the early 1980s not as a film or a television show but as a greeting card concept. Somehow along the way it became a global phenomenon — accumulating more than $12 billion in lifetime retail sales, a network of over 500 licensing partners and distribution across more than 190 countries in 26 languages.

The brand’s roster now spans more than 100 bears, each tied to a specific emotion or trait, from Cheer Bear and Funshine Bear to Grumpy Bear. That emotional architecture — the idea that each character represents something a kid can name and relate to — has proved stickier than most children’s entertainment concepts of the same era, many of which have long since faded.

For Authentic, the acquisition fits a recognizable pattern. The company has built its business around acquiring IP with strong existing recognition and commercial infrastructure, then running it through its content and licensing operations to extend its life and reach. Care Bears arrives with nearly 45 years of brand history, an active content pipeline and a fanbase that has proven multigenerational — which is precisely the kind of asset Authentic is structured to handle.

“Care Bears is the gold standard of family entertainment,” said Corey Salter, CEO of Authentic’s Entertainment division, in a press release. “It arrives with a nearly 45-year history of genuine emotional connection, an active content pipeline, a vast network of more than 500 licensing partners and a devoted fanbase that keeps growing. Our opportunity is not simply to steward the brand and its message of positivity; it’s to bring Care Bears into Authentic’s powerful platform and write the next great chapter in one of entertainment’s most enduring franchises.”

Authentic Studios and Authentic Live, both divisions of Authentic Brands Group, will be central to expanding the franchise from here. Authentic Studios, which has produced the Emmy-winning Beckham docuseries on Netflix and the Emmy-nominated Shaq on HBO among others, is expected to develop new Care Bears content. Authentic Live, which connects brands to ticketed events and live experiences across more than 60 annual touchpoints, will handle the physical side of the expansion.

Authentic’s broader portfolio drives more than $36 billion in annual system-wide retail sales across more than 50 brands. Care Bears joins a family entertainment slate that the company has been deliberately building out, giving the brand a platform and distribution infrastructure that would have been difficult to replicate independently.

Information sourced from Authentic Brands.