Jakks Pacific Inc. entered into an agreement with Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Co. Ltd. to sell 3,660,891 million shares of the company’s common stock to Meisheng for a total purchase price of $19.3 million. The transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders of Meisheng’s parent company and regulatory filings in China by Meisheng.
“As a manufacturer of kids’ consumer products and toys, as well as a producer of animated content, we appreciate the significant and broad possible new opportunities the Chinese market represents,” says Stephen Berman, chairman and CEO of Jakks Pacific. “We are pleased that Meisheng has made the investment decision to acquire an equity stake in Jakks. This should fortify our existing relationship as joint venture partners in two jointly owned companies—one that distributes Jakks products in China and the other that develops new animation content owned by Jakks and Meisheng. We expect the expanded relationship with Meisheng will put us in an advantageous position to realize greater opportunities in China.”
Berman also announced that Xiaoqiang Zhao, executive director of Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Company Ltd. and chairman of the board of its parent company Meisheng Culture & Creative Corp., Ltd., will join as a member of Jakks’ board of directors. Zhao will serve as chair of a specially created committee aimed at commercial development in the Greater China region, and will help gain greater access to the Chinese toy market.
In addition to the joint venture companies established by Meisheng and Jakks, Meisheng Culture & Creative Corp., Ltd. has for many years been a manufacturer for the company.
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