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[no-one]

Fellow Seibertronian philswitch engage has alerted us to a Bloomberg Business article reporting a possible merger of Hasbro and Mattel.

There has been reports in the past of a Hasbro / Mattel deal and details of this potential merger are scarce.

Here are the highlights of the Bloomberg Article:

Hasbro's and Mattel's stocks are on the rise with Hasbro leading the charge. Hasbro is projected to have a strong year with the release of a new Star Wars movie. Both companies are facing fierce competition from fellow toy manufacturer LEGO.



The entire article can be read here.

What do you think of this possible merger? Is it a good or bad thing for our favorite hobby? Hit the jump and sound off in the discussion below.

Remember to keep your browsers pointed to Seibertron.com for the latest Transformer news, the largest Transformers galleries and the liveliest Transformers discussions you can have this side of a space bridge.

[Amelie]

As long as they don't screw up Monster High Dolls

[Ironhidensh]

Just in case you had ever wanted an Optimus Prime Barbie.

[ZeroWolf]

This is interesting, if the rumours pan out into actual action by the companies. In terms of tfs though, I'm not sure what it means apart from them not disappearing any time soon.

[RAR]

Not the first time this has popped up though last time it was Mattel wanting to buy Hasbro in reality this time Hasbro is the stronger of the two.

I expect they will do what they always do shut down the bits they don't want and keep the bits they do - so Micromachines stays the rest of Galoob gets killed. same here - Hotwheels and Barbie would survive - DC brands would be looped into Hasbro and most of Boys Brands would likewise or simply die off

So things like MOTU would be dead for good.
I can't see Hasbro rebooting Starcom either (which Mattel own and just sit on).

I expect board room egos will stop a merger though - it might even be a scam to boost share price short term.

Hasbro would only buy mattel to get it's hands on the Doll Dept and the Hotwheels brand - the rest they would care about much - though they might decide to monetise MOTU possibly with more enthusiasm than Mattel show via their Movie devision. heck it might even be worth begging Hasbro to make Modern MOTU season 3 if they do buy Mattel out.

I expect things like Ghostbusters toys would taper off once they reach their natrual life and the rest of Mattel than isn't dolls or Hotwheels would be shut - however Hasbro's own girls toy division might suffer job losses as they have always been pretty poor at that - unless it's doing something like distributing Bratz internationally.

it's a toss up either way who is better at plush toys though. or who is better Playskool or Fisher price - that might be the dirtiest fight and it might also be what saves some more of Mattel if Hasbro sees there is Money to be made in Imaginenext still.

As if anyone will be in charge it will be Hasbro as they have more buying power and can get the loans they'd need Mattel wouldn't be able to borrow enough to buy out Hasbro it lacks the collateral to do it.

[Amelie]

Just in case you had ever wanted an Optimus Prime Barbie.

OR how about a MotU cross over with TFs?

Transforming Battlecat would be ace.

Monster High Arcee would be better

[philswitch engage]

The new company name could be Hasmat.

My biggest concern here is not so much around transformers as it is the potential for increase toy prices, especially around the 6 inch collectible toys.

Marvel Legends, DC heroes, WWE, Star Wars would all be under one company and we could see even greater price hikes.

[no-one]

Transforming anything is always better. I have a bro-in-law that collects scale model cars, hot wheels and such; for the life of me I can't wrap my head around the fact that they don't transform.

These kind of things can go either way, but we might see some interesting cross overs.

[Noideaforaname]

*looking at chart*
What happened in '99 that set Hasbro apart from Mattel, and what in '02 nearly pulled them under?
*quickly checks Star Wars prequels release dates*
Episode II wasn't that bad, was it?



But if this merger happens, what toy companies will there even be anymore? This one, Lego, and... ??

[Amelie]

But if this merger happens, what toy companies will there even be anymore? This one, Lego, and... ??

Lego
Bandai
Takara
Zapf Creation

few others that I can't name off the top of my head.

[Ultra Markus]

probably be like when hasbro bought kenner

[DedicatedGhostArt]

I wonder if Hotwheels Transformers will become a reality again? Maybe Transformers will finally have diecast again.

[DeathReviews]

So will that make the new company that emerges "Hastel" or "Matbro"?

[Amelie]

probably be like when hasbro bought kenner

The word you are looking for is swallowed. Hasbro swallowed Kenner like an entrée.

[Ultra Markus]

So will that make the new company that emerges "Hastel" or "Matbro"?

just hasbro, because everything hasbro acquires gets absorbed like the Borg assimilating worlds

[Nemesis Maximo]

This wouldn't necessarily affect those of us mostly interested in Hasbro brands, but Mattel brands (MOTU, lookin atchoo) would probably see this as a God-send. Just Think, MOTU could be cool again, and be available with the superior sculpting of The Four Horsemen in the updated bodies instead of the puffy, Pat-Lee-Drew-Him-in-a-rubber-suit look of the vintage collections. I'd be happy.

Of course, until this actually happens, it's not happening.

[Va'al]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnot impressed by this.

[Amelie]

This wouldn't necessarily affect those of us mostly interested in Hasbro brands, but Mattel brands (MOTU, lookin atchoo) would probably see this as a God-send.

As a doll collector - I beg to differ. I have this feeling all the clothes will suddenly be cheaply printed one or two piece things without much detail (ala how TF detailing in terms of paint or tampographing has gone)

[Nemesis Maximo]

This wouldn't necessarily affect those of us mostly interested in Hasbro brands, but Mattel brands (MOTU, lookin atchoo) would probably see this as a God-send.

As a doll collector - I beg to differ. I have this feeling all the clothes will suddenly be cheaply printed one or two piece things without much detail (ala how TF detailing in terms of paint or tampographing has gone)

Hm, good point. But the cloth goods on TFs and MOTU figures never existed. So technically, what I said could still be true. And even in the wake of lacking paint apps, we are seeing some of the best sculpting ever on TF figures. And also look at the 3 3/4 inch G.I. Joe and the 6 Star Wars and Marvel Legends lines: if those kinds of philosophies were applied to MOTU...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnot impressed by this.

Perhaps thou would liketh to impart a motivation for thine emotional alignment toward this interesting and apparently divisive rumor?

[Black Bumblebee]

If I remember right, Hot Wheels owns the right to the name "Hot Rod," so buying Mattel might mean that Rodimus can finally get his name back lol

[Railbomb]

If I remember right, Hot Wheels owns the right to the name "Hot Rod," so buying Mattel might mean that Rodimus can finally get his name back lol

I think Hot Rod's name has the same problem as Bumblebee- it's too generic and can't be trademarked- except Hasbro for whatever reason doesn't care about Bumblebee's name.

[fenrir72]

Who owns Fisher Price btw?

[Emerje]

So will that make the new company that emerges "Hastel" or "Matbro"?

I dare them to call it "HasMat", I'm sure nobody would think their products are toxic after that. Hazmat, get it? No? Nevermind...

I wonder if Hotwheels Transformers will become a reality again? Maybe Transformers will finally have diecast again.

When was that ever a reality before? I think you're thinking of Tonka. Speaking of Tonka, they're still made of metal so Hasbro clearly isn't afraid to still use the stuff, they just don't like the weight and associated shipping costs. They make Transformers hollow to make them lighter and use less plastic, they aren't about to fill them with diecast.

This wouldn't necessarily affect those of us mostly interested in Hasbro brands, but Mattel brands (MOTU, lookin atchoo) would probably see this as a God-send.

As a doll collector - I beg to differ. I have this feeling all the clothes will suddenly be cheaply printed one or two piece things without much detail (ala how TF detailing in terms of paint or tampographing has gone)

I don't know if that would be the case. Mattel is even more notorious for making cuts than Hasbro is. Look at the garbage they've been putting out for their DC lines, or their ability to destroy their own toy lines like the Master of the Universe 20XX series, or getting a big license like Voltron Force and failing to launch it at retail (I do love my 24" Voltron, though). I don't think we'd see much change with the Barbie division as long as their budget remains the same.

Emerje

[Megatron Wolf]

This would do nothing but hurt the consumer, prices would go up, toylines would be killed or rebranded, quality would sink even lower, i see nothing good coming out of this if it does happen. Both companies are pretty bad these days so merging them would be a disaster. We need more toy companies not less

[Sabrblade]

If I remember right, Hot Wheels owns the right to the name "Hot Rod," so buying Mattel might mean that Rodimus can finally get his name back lol

I think Hot Rod's name has the same problem as Bumblebee- it's too generic and can't be trademarked- except Hasbro for whatever reason doesn't care about Bumblebee's name.

Hot Rod got his name back in the new Platinum Edition "Planet of Junk Clash" set, as "Autobot Hot Rod".