Cartamundi Group Completes Acquisition of the United States Playing Card Company

The iconic Bicycle, Bee, Hoyle, and Fournier brands are officially under new ownership.

The Belgian Cartamundi Group completed its acquisition of the United States Playing Card Company (USPC). The USPC was most recently owned by Newell, the parent company of brands Rubbermaid and Coleman. With the acquisition, Cartamundi says that it’s looking to “strengthen its role as a key player in the global entertainment industry.”

The USPC employs more than 350 people and maintains manufacturing facilities in Erlanger, Kentucky, and Vitoria (Àlava), Spain.

“This is an exciting time for Cartamundi,” says Stefaan Merckx, CEO of Cartamundi. “The addition of USPC immediately allows us to take advantage of growing playing card sales in the U.S. USPC’s leading position in Spain is highly complementary with Cartamundi’s European footprint and fits perfectly in our plans for strategic growth.”

“Our commitment to delighting consumers, cardists, magicians, and casino players with world-class quality remains our mission,” says USPC CEO Michael Slaughter, who will assume a position on the Cartamundi executive committee.

Next year is a milestone year for Cartamundi, which celebrates its 50th anniversary, as Fournier and Bicycle celebrate their 150th and 135th anniversaries, respectively.

About the author

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.