The Wall Street Journal (paywall) is reporting via undisclosed sources that Hasbro has been in talks to takeover Mattel. This has been rumored before but apparently has fired back up recently. No specifics, costs, or process have been revealed at this time. Hasbro is currently worth near 11 billion, while Mattel is worth 5 billion. The acquisition would put Barbie, Transformers, G. I. Joe, Nerf and Hot Wheels under one roof, not to mention licenses for both DC and Marvel, creating a truly dominant market player.
The offer takes place against the backdrop of an industry in the throes of deep change. The bankruptcy filing of Toys R Us, the children’s store giant, has reverberated across the toy industry.
Mattel shares, which have taken a beating amid weak sales results, skyrocketed by more than 20 percent in after-hours trading on the Hasbro news. Hasbro shares jumped more than 2 percent on the same report.
Both companies declined media requests for comments.
Let us know what you think about the possibility of this juggernaut!
SilverOptimus says
News Post: Hasbro In Takeover Talks With Mattel
Naptime says
It's all good if we get G.I. Joe Mega Construx out of the deal.
FlyinDeathPunch says
This would be amazing if we can finally get some Marvel Legends quality DC figures.
13thwarrior says
If you think GI Joe is ignored by Hasbro now, wait until they have Hot Wheels, Barbie, He-Man, DC characters, and more to manage. GI Joe will be an afterthought of an afterthought.
Matt82 says
Hasbro owning Mattel gets them a little too close to a monopoly for my tastes.
Cornguy says
Also, I don't think it's ever a good thing when a market gets less competitive.
Not to mention that toy sales already kind of cannibalize each other, I don't fully see the benefit of doing this without phasing out even more brands than they already are. And that's just lose-lose for anyone who collects anything other than superheroes, Transformers, Star Wars, MLP or Barbie.
Maybe I don't understand the industry well enough, but this does not sound like a good thing to me. I would love to be mistaken however.
Digital Ghost says
Trigue says
well hopefully our new Mattel overlords will let Super 7 make a vintage themed GIJoe line.
txbart says
But I agree, the COD Mega Bloks figure scale & construction is where Hasbro should have taken Kreo & should take GI Joe.
Oh, also a bit of grousing here over Mattel’s handling of Thundercats.
youdoitimbusy says
I don't see this helping the Joe brand at all. Hasbro has already put little to no effort into it with the properties they have. What do you think will happen when they have to manage more?
Keep reading: Hasbro In Takeover Talks With Mattel - Page 2
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