TOKYO – Sanrio Co., the Japanese Hello Kitty brand licenser, aims to spend up to $377 million to buy rights to a character for the first time to cut its reliance on the white cat with a red bow and no mouth.

“We want to diversify our character portfolio instead of spending time to boost recognition of our existing characters in overseas markets,” Managing Director Susumu Emori, 62, said in an interview. He declined to say whether the company is in talks with any candidates.

Sanrio, which ended a decade-long sales slump in 2010, relies on Hello Kitty goods for 80 percent of overseas licensing revenue. Character-goods deals with Wal-Mart and Austrian luxury crystal maker Swarovski helped Sanrio more than double operating profit since 2009 and amass $265 million in cash, the most in a decade.

“Sanrio depends on Hello Kitty too much, so it’d be good to add a major character,” said Takashi Oka, a Tokyo-based analyst at TIW Inc. The company needs the rights to a character that’s already well established as a brand, he said.

Rival Tomy Co., the Japanese maker of Transformer and Pokemon toys, bought RC2 Corp., the maker of Thomas the Tank Engine products, in April for $640 million. Iconix Brand Group Inc., which owns the Candie’s and London Fog fashion brands, and the family of cartoonist Charles Schulz paid $175 million last year for the rights to Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

Sanrio is prepared to spend $126 billion in cash and twice that borrowed from banks to finance the character purchase, Emori said. The ideal candidate won’t clash with the company’s mainstay cartoon kitten.

“We want to buy a character that won’t harm Hello Kitty’s image,” Emori said. “Our overseas sales team is looking for deals.”

Sanrio’s search for an already established character compatible with Hello Kitty may take some time, Oka of TIW said.