On the eve of Toy Fair Dallas, another big acquisition just took place.

Florida-based Jazwares, LLC, a subsidiary of Alleghany Capital Corp., has acquired Pennsylvania-based Wicked Cool Toys Holdings, LLC (WCT).

“Led by Michael RinzlerJeremy Padawer, and Thomas Poon, WCT has built an impressive reputation in the industry for spotting on-trend licenses, reinvigorating nostalgic brands, and collaborating with inventors to develop new products, says Judd Zebersky, CEO and president of Jazwares. “We are thrilled to partner with WCT and its talented employees, leveraging the company’s offices in PennsylvaniaCalifornia, and Hong Kong.  WCT will operate as a division of Jazwares and day-to-day operations will not be impacted by this transaction.”

“We are excited to join Jazwares and the Alleghany Capital family of companies,” says Michael Rinzler, co-president and founding partner of WCT. “Jazwares is a perfect strategic and cultural fit for WCT, driven by the vision and leadership of Judd and Laura Zebersky.  In addition, we believe that Alleghany Capital’s long-term investment horizon and strategy of supporting entrepreneurial companies such as Jazwares and WCT will accelerate our combined growth potential.”

Jeremy Padawer, co-president and partner of WCT, adds, “Jazwares’ product development expertise, global reach, and extreme passion for play will allow us to break new ground together in the toy industry and beyond.”

Recently, it was rumored that Alleghany, which took stake in Jazwares in 2013, was looking to bring Jakks Pacific into its stable, potentially merging that company with Jazwares, or operating it as a subsidiary, as it will do with WCT.

Both Jazwares and WCT have been on a roll of late, with Jazwares seeing much success from the likes of Fortnite and Peppa Pig, and WCT locking big deals for Micro Machines, Halo, and the launch of its Blinger line this fall.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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