Iconix – the licensing company that usually sticks to products I’m not into, like Candie’s, Rampage and, yes, Ed Hardy – has now coughed up a significant amount of scratch to pick up two brands that might actually be near and dear to some of your hearts, dear readers. They’ve bought 80% of the rights to several brands from United Features Syndicate, Inc., including Peanuts and Dilbert:

Charlie Brown and his crew have a new home. Iconix Brand Group Inc., parent company of Zoo York, Op, and ecko to name a few, announced that it has purchased the rights to the late Charles Schulz’s Peanuts and that first quarter earnings soared 58 percent in 2010. Iconix also increased its full-year 2010 revenue guidance to $305 million to $315 million, up from $260 million to $270 million following the news that it is acquiring the rights to Peanuts for $175 million in cash from E.W. Scripps Co.

So, should they ever be inclined to do a mash-up (as Jason and I have done here, with me writing this post and him providing the much better Photoshop than I could ever hope to muster), we can look forward to the Peanuts crew getting their gym, tan and laundry on in Ed Hardy shirts with Joe Boxer briefs hanging out… followed by all of our childhoods dying in a fire.

Maybe their next acquisition will be Bumpits, which would really help Lucy with pulling off the Snooki hair. Still not sure how Dilbert fits into the equation though.