Hasbro and Mattel in Merger Talks

Screen Shot 2016-02-04 at 1.52.52 PMBloomberg is reporting that Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. have held talks about merging two of the world’s biggest toymakers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hasbro approached Mattel about a potential transaction late last year, and the companies have held on-and-off talks about a deal, the people said. Representatives for Mattel declined to comment, while representatives for Hasbro didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mattel shares rose 4 percent to $33.03 today, valuing the company at about $11.2 billion. Hasbro rose 1.6 percent to $76.19 after climbing as high as $78.45, valuing the company at about $9.5 billion.

Last week, Mattel unveiled Barbie dolls with a wider array of body types and skin tones in an effort to expand the brand’s appeal. Hasbro is the toy licensee for Disney’s top properties, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney Princess, and Disney Frozen.

About the author

Jackie Breyer

Jackie Breyer

Jackie Breyer is the vice president of Adventure Media & Events, and group publisher of The Toy Book, The Toy Insider, and The Pop Insider. She has been reporting on retail and toy industry trends for more than 20 years. Jackie has been featured in the Netflix series The Toys That Made Us, The History Channel’s The Toys That Built America, and Nat Geo’s The ’80s Top 10: Toys, as well as The TODAY show, CNBC's Power Lunch, NBC News, CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and more. Jackie is the 2012 recipient of the Wonder Woman in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment Award in the field of Journalism & Social Media. A true ’80s kid, Jackie is a fan of Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Super Mario, Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Archie Comics. Her first Cabbage Patch Kid was named Cecily Aretha. She still has her charm necklace, and her Garbage Pail Kid card collection is bigger than yours. Jackie has successfully trained her kids Lena and Henry to be Mario Kart experts. You can follow her on social media @jackiebreyer and connect with her on LinkedIn.

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