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 Rinzler, Jeremy 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 Pennsylvania, California, 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.
