Hasbro and Mattel Possible Merger Talks

[gabumon]

Just read that Hasbro and Mattel are having possible merger talks.   

I wonder if this would mean Equestrial Girl dolls could have a chance at being as good as MH dolls?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-04/hasbro-mattel-said-to-have-held-talks-about-possible-merger-ik8jsx1q

[Al-1701]

I can already hear the anti-trust case being built against this.  Mattel and Hasbro are the only major toy companies based in North America.  Them merging would create a monopoly.

[okamigirl64]

I can already hear the anti-trust case being built against this.  Mattel and Hasbro are the only major toy companies based in North America.  Them merging would create a monopoly.

This. I don't think it can happen even if they wanted to.

[Al-1701]

Though, they could always judge-shop for someone who would let it go through.

[ponyqueen]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa!

[gabumon]

I can already hear the anti-trust case being built against this.  Mattel and Hasbro are the only major toy companies based in North America.  Them merging would create a monopoly.

Article says: "A merger might not face disqualifying antitrust hurdles because the U.S. toy industry is very fragmented, according to Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. If combined, the companies would have probably about one-quarter of the market in the U.S., she said."

[Al-1701]

What?  I did an analysis of toy companies a year ago for a project.  Mattel and Hasbro account for 90% of sales by American-based toy companies.  They're all there is on this side of the Pacific.  The rest are little niche companies.  The #3 American toy maker is Leapfrog.

This would be like GM and Ford merging in the automotive industry.

[Wardah]

Just read that Hasbro and Mattel are having possible merger talks.   

I wonder if this would mean Equestrial Girl dolls could have a chance at being as good as MH dolls?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-04/hasbro-mattel-said-to-have-held-talks-about-possible-merger-ik8jsx1q

Wow Mattel is desperate to have Disney Princess back. It's probably not gonna happen tho. Disney just left Mattel because they disagreed with them over EAH. They will prevent this.

Hey some of the Equestria Girls are just as good as MH, it just depends on the line. Also the EG Minis are much better than the similarly sized static MH Vinyls.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

What would they get out of a merger? What would each company gain or lose? Would that be good for MLP or bad (could go either way).
In the first part of the article it said Hasbro was the one who approached Mattel about a merger last year, so I don't think Mattel was that desperate even with losing Disney Princess..

[Dragonflitter]

o.0 -tries to wrap head around this idea-

[Al-1701]

I really don't see much to gain for either side.  It wouldn't improve market penetration for their brands as they essentially exist in the same sandbox.

Hasbro merging with Bandai would make more sense.  Be the vehicle to finally bring Precure properly to the states (Glitter Force is a disgrace).  Perhaps take some of Bandai's less successful brands in Japan and revamp them to see if an American audience would be more interested.  On the other side, an alliance with Bandai might improve Hasbro's market penetration into Japan beyond the Transformers.

So, I don't know what Hasbro was thinking with this.

[Wardah]

Aren't both these companies actually made of several divisions? Like maybe it's going to be a merger of their smaller divisions like their entertainment or electronic gaming divisions?

[shimmer73083]

It's a sign of the times unfortunately.   Staples and Office Depot almost merged back in December. Companies just keep acquiring each other, laying off, and selling. It's crazy.

[LadyMoondancer]

Wow . . . I too would think that anti-trust laws would prevent this.

If they did merge, I wonder if some previously "competing" toylines would be axed.  Not MLP because it doesn't really have any other big "horse" competitors, but I wonder if some fashion doll lines would bite the dust.

[Wardah]

Wow . . . I too would think that anti-trust laws would prevent this.

If they did merge, I wonder if some previously "competing" toylines would be axed.  Not MLP because it doesn't really have any other big "horse" competitors, but I wonder if some fashion doll lines would bite the dust.

Yeah that is what I'd worry about if there was a full company merger. Disney wouldn't get axed of course but I can't imagine a certain line of rainbow colored horse dolls continuing to exist.