Last Updated on May 10, 2021 by Danielle
Sources inside Bloomberg say Hasbro and Mattel are talking about a merger.
According to Bloomberg, sometime late last year Hasbro and Mattel began talking about a possible merger. Mattel and Hasbro are the two biggest companies in the toy industry. A merging of both companies would create the world’s largest toy company. The deal would bring together GI Joe and Barbie.
Sources say that Hasbro, which is slightly smaller than Mattel, actually started the conversation. Mattel is worth $11 billion and Hasbro is worth about $9.5 billion. The talks have been on and off going. Bloomberg says that its sources say that the talks might not lead to a merger, but that the 2 companies are talking.
Both Mattel and Hasbro refused to comment on these rumors.
Mattel has long been associated with Barbie. Barbie has been around longer than most of us have been alive. Mattel has been able to inject life into her over and over again to keep her relevant for all these years.
In recent years, Mattel has been losing ground to Lego and even Hasbro’s My Little Pony. The company is hoping to revitalize its business. Earlier, Mattel announced it was going to revamp Barbie with different body types. Barbie will feature a more realistic curvaceous look with 3 different body types.
Recently, Mattel released that it had huge earnings in the 4th quarter of last year. Since the positive news, its shares are up 15 percent. Hasbro will release its earning on February 8, 2016. Analysts are expecting Hasbro to increase its earnings because of strong sales for the Star Wars Force Awakens toys.
Both companies are moving closer and closer to the digital space. If combined, they would have a huge presence for licensing out some of their biggest brands. For years, these companies have been fighting over big licenses like Frozen and Star Wars. These brands are brands that everyone knows and hugely marketable globally. Recently, both Frozen and the Disney Princess line have shifted under Hasbro from Mattel, which may cause Mattel to take a hit this year. These toys are expected to be some of the hottest toys in 2021 for Christmas.
This is not the first time that we have heard about a possible merger between the 2 companies. About 20 years ago, Mattel withdrew its offer to buy Hasbro for $5.2 billion. Back then, Hasbro did everything it could to stop the deal.
These are the 2 largest toy companies in the industry. Each company’s headquarters are on opposite coasts of the United States. If the deal does go through, both Transformers and Barbie would be under the same roof. These are some of the top toys for girls and top toys for boys. The company would dominate both sides of the toy isle. The combined company would finally present a threat to Lego, which in recent years has been growing faster than both companies.
Will the Feds step in? If the companies merge, it would be the biggest toy company in the world by far as it would have 25% of the market in the US. An antitrust review would depend on how broadly the market is defined. Some analysts say that because the US toy market is fragmented, a merger might not face the scrutiny of the Government. The companies could also sell overlapping segments to help win approval. On the other hand, these are two of the largest toymakers so it might cause prices to go up.
If Hasbro and Mattel merge, it could lead to crossovers that most of us only dreamed of. Will we see My Little Pony branded Hotwheels or Barbie Transformers? Would DC & Marvel figures finally be under one roof? Will it happen? We will have to wait and see.
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