Mattel acquires Mega Brands for $460m

Mattel sees the acquisition as an 'opportunity to broaden its relationship with its entertainment partners'.

Mattel, Inc has acquired Mega Brands for $460 million.

Mattel stated that the acquisition 'advances Mattel’s global growth strategy of building upon its world-class portfolio of brands by expanding into two of the fastest-growing toy categories'.

Mega Brands is the second biggest player in the $4 billion construction building sets category.
“A key pillar of our global growth strategy is the strategic acquisition of brands that will both benefit from our scale and help extend our reach into new and growing categories,” said Bryan G. Stockton, Mattel chairman and CEO.

“The construction play pattern is popular, universal and has had one of the fastest growth rates over the past three years. We look forward to helping Mega Brands accelerate its global growth, providing more choices for more children and their families.”

Mattel’s portfolio of brands will now include Mega Bloks licensed ranges including brands like Halo, Skylanders, Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Power Rangers, Hello Kitty and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Mattel sees the acquisition as an 'opportunity to broaden its relationship with its entertainment partners'.
“Mega Brands has built leading positions in large, growing categories by providing engaging creative experiences for children and families through innovative, well-designed and high-quality products, and Mattel is the ideal partner to take our brands to the next level,” said Marc Bertrand, Mega Brands president and CEO.

“We are confident Mattel’s scale and global platform spanning 150 markets – combined with the expertise of our people in the construction and arts & crafts categories – will create tremendous growth opportunities for our brands.”

Mega Brands has estimated net sales for FY 2013 of $405 million and Mattel plans to maintain Mega Brands’ expertise in manufacturing, both in Montreal and Tennessee, and aims to keep the Mega Brands headquarters in Montreal.

It ranks among the top 15 toy companies globally in terms of sales, according to statistics published by the NPD in 2013 and last year it achieved record sales of preschool construction toys.
Based in Montreal, Mega Brands has approximately 1,700 employees in 17 countries.

“At Mattel, we have followed a consistent philosophy on acquisitions – we seek to create value by building on the foundations of the great businesses we have acquired while retaining and nurturing the core values, talents and unique capabilities that made them great,” Stockton added.

“We will approach our new brands and colleagues at Mega Brands with great respect for what they have built and enthusiasm for what we can build together.”