Potential Hasbro and Mattel Merger?

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According to a report today from Bloomberg Business, Hasbro (owners of the Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering brands) and Mattel have been in talks about a possible merger. The talks started in 2015, and were instigated by Hasbro.
The article listed the net worth and stock values of the two companies: "Mattel shares rose 1.7 percent to $32.29 at 4:26 p.m. in New York, valuing the company at about $11 billion and extending a streak that has seen the stock gain 19 percent this year. Hasbro rose 1.3 percent to $75.96 after climbing as high as $78.45, valuing the company at about $9.5 billion." Bloomberg experts say that a merger would allow for a stronger competition against Denmark's LEGO.

This isn't the first time that the two companies have talked about a merger.

The important question for tabletop gamers, should the merger go through, is how would the Wizards of the Coast​ division fare in all of this?

 

[JeffB]

opcorn:

I forsee many of us nerds grabbing helmets and shoulder pads and sitting down in front of the computer in our armchairs.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Well, I sure hope not. Taking one gargantuan company and merging it with another gargantuan company is about as opposite as you can get with regards to "fostering healthy competition in the marketplace". Hope they aren't allowed to do that...

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Koloth]

D&D Barbie anyone?

 

[Xavian Starsider]

They'll argue whether the merged company should be Hasbro-Mattel or Mattel-Hasbro and that will be the end of it. Barbie and GI Joe will continue to have to cross enemy lines to foster their forbidden love.

Edit HasMat?

 

[Mistwell]

Not sure SEC would permit that merger.

 

[Hussar]

Why not? There are so many toy companies out there that this can't really qualify as anti-trust can it?

One good thing that might come from this is more cross pollination with D&D IP. D&D monopoly for example. Dungeon Barbie might be an idea whose time has come.

 

[Sunseeker]

Competition against LEGO? You mean a company that produces an over-priced product but is still relatively niche in the market? They don't produce half the types of products that Hasbro and Mattel have, and neither of those companies produce anything in the same style of what are essentially overblown puzzle toys as LEGO.

This is like saying tire manufacturers are concerned about being able to compete with window-glass manufacturers. Related markets, but completely separate products.

Beyond that, there's almost no other serious competitors to Mattel or Hasbro on the market.

 

[Nikosandros]

One good thing that might come from this is more cross pollination with D&D IP. D&D monopoly for example. Dungeon Barbie might be an idea whose time has come.

Monopoly is already published by Hasbro. Dungeon Barbie sounds just... wrong.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Hiya!

Well, I sure hope not. Taking one gargantuan company and merging it with another gargantuan company is about as opposite as you can get with regards to "fostering healthy competition in the marketplace". Hope they aren't allowed to do that...

^_^

Paul L. Ming

Does America have any competition laws that would prevent such a merger?