Group Of Mattel Shareholders Push For Possible Sale To Hasbro

[JayC]

A group of shareholders under the umbrella of Southeastern Asset Management, which oversees 4% of Mattel’s stock in an open letter to Mattel's board last week laid out several scenarios it would like to see the company pursue including the possibility of selling to a competitor such as Hasbro which was mentioned specifically.

"We know that Mattel and Hasbro have engaged in on-and-off talks for decades. At the moment, a deal between the two companies is possible in our view. Hasbro has done a better job executing on digital growth than Mattel and therefore has more credibility in this important part of the business. We believe synergies between the two companies would be material, creating a stronger player in a global industry."

They also suggested Mattel could sell to a private equity firm, which would mean it would no longer be publicly traded on the stock market or to a large media company with its valuable intellectual properties.

The motivation for this letter is because they felt shareholders would have to wait too long for the company’s stock price to reach $30.

"We worry that your current compensation package incentivizes waiting too long for a stock price over $30. We see a value per share today approaching $30, but we do not want to wait longer for that to be realized. We would prefer you lead the effort to explore strategic alternatives given your industry knowledge and relationships." 

In response, Mattel said that the company has been in talks with Southeastern and is focused on its growth strategy as they remain committed to acting in the best interests of all Mattel shareholders.

[Jeddostotle7]

I think either of these would be pretty bad.  Hasbro under Chris Cox is explicitly trying to slowly move out of the toy business entirely (stupid) and Mattel under Hasbro would be brought along with them, while private equity is its own brand of hazard.

[RobertD]

Wishful thinking on their part. "Let me buy a small percentage of a company and then write a letter hoping I can influence the company into self-destructing for a quick payout." If Mattel was sincerely interested in selling, or Hasbro interested in buying, you'd hear about it from them, not minority shareholders making petulant demands. 

[bgiles73]

I sure hope not. This would be a terrible scenario. I think I would prefer Mattel buying Hasbro. 

[MagnaPrime]

I'll admit this. My hasbro stock is doing gangbusters right now. My mattel stock is pretty wimpy. But I don't like either of these moves.

[Scattergorical]

I haven't bothered looking up Mattel's stock but I was surprised to see that megahit movie didn't turn any tides for them, even with He-Man looking to pull in at least some profit. I'd hate too see Hasbro eat them up like some ouroboros of mediocrity, but private equity? Yuck.

[HogunVolstagg2]

I don’t know how influential a 4% shareholder group is, but yeah, no merger is ever good for the market or for the consumer. More companies mean more variety, and yes, competition! Isn’t that what this economy is built on?

Like other commenters said– they are pushing for a big payday and sacrificing the actual company for it. Awful stuff.

[lordtom]

Get rid of those a holes for even suggesting that. A monopoly would be a disaster and the death of some of the best lines in toys (WWE in particular). Mattel is smashing at the moment, Hasbro's stuff is kicass too. Better to invest in the digital market rather than cop out and sell to Hasbro, which I'm guessing those guys have their fat hoofs in Hasbro already and this would make them more money. 

[BenFromtheBunker]

Hasbro until all are one.

[Admiralty_Entertainment]

Let's hope none of these scenarios happen. There's no good reason for all these mega mergers or sales other than short term shareholder greed - it never helps the company in the long run and definitely never helps the consumer.