Martin Handford, the creator of the "Where's Wally?" cartoons, has sold global rights to the brand in a £2.5m deal.
The buyer is the acquisitive Entertainment Rights group, which already takes in Postman Pat and Rupert Bear. Last month it became the world's biggest independent owner of children's brands when it bought up its US rival in a deal that doubled its size and added Lassie and the Lone Ranger to its portfolio.
Hampstead-born Mr Handford, 50, worked in an insurance office to fund his way through art college and specialised in drawing crowd scenes.
He created the popular Wally character - the time-travel aficionado who always dresses in red and white - in 1986. Since then, more than 73m of the "Where's Wally?" books have been sold around the world. Each picture takes him around eight weeks to draw.
Entertainment Rights said Where's Wally? has become one of the most recognisable children's characters in the world and it plans to develop a multimedia strategy for the brand.
Chief executive Mike Heap said this morning he had had his eye on the character for some time and was delighted to have secured the deal. "There has been very little development of the brand and the opportunities are huge," he said. "Computer games are an obvious one and a television series."
"This is a bit like Rupert Bear, which we found lurking under Richard Desmond's [owner of Express Newspapers] desk and nothing had been done with it. It is very exciting when you can get these classic brands from their original owners."
Mr Handford is "a very private man," said Mr Heap. "He has exclusively focused on Where's Wally; it's been his life. He will carry on drawing and we'll share all the ideas."
Sales of the brand, including collectables, have totalled more than £81m worldwide. The series of 60 pictorial puzzle books, based on searching and finding Wally and friends, has been translated into 26 languages, and is published in over 50 countries - including the US, where it is known as "Where's Waldo?"
The £2.5m purchase price is being paid in a first instalment of £500,000 with the balance payable in four instalments over the next three years.