Potential Hasbro/Mattel merger?

[fatbot]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...erger-ik8jsx1q

Thoughts?

[Raider]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...erger-ik8jsx1q

Thoughts?

Seriously... they use Furby as a famous Hasbro product over Transformers...

On the subject, interesting. I don't know much on the financial situation of either though to comment on whether this is good or bad for Transformer product creation/development/sales.

[griffin]

That would be one messy marriage, with all the bad blood between them.
And could that mean Hasbro adopting Mattel's production sources, which have been noted as less ethical than Hasbro factories (Hasbro's sources probably aren't the best either as they hop around the world looking for cheaper factories, but Mattel has been noted as being less concerned with their standards).

And prices would go up with action figures, dolls and boardgames, as they would have no real competition if they merged. Lego is their biggest rival, and they just do construction blocks. Lego is on a high at the moment, but their popularity goes through cycles, so they can't be seen as a direct rival to a merged Hasbro & Mattel.

[i_amtrunks]

If they were Australian based companies the merger would be blocked by the competition watchdog.

A merger between the two would either end up making an unbeatable toy manufacturer with a ridiculously high market share, or as Griffin said, the bad blood between the toy would end up destroying both companies and leaving a giant hole in the toy business that would be very difficult to fill with anything but Lego and cheap Chinese KO's.

[Deonasis]

I've always wondered what if Barbie's pink convertable was also a Transformer...

[M-bot]

I'm thinking about Matty Collector. While it would be interesting for Hasbro to introduce a comprehensive subscription service for TFs (maybe for MPs?), it would probably mean all of the crap people get from Matty Collector would be visited on TF fans. Further, while I would wish for MOTU figures to be available at retail in decent numbers at an affordable price point, it probably means we'd also see a popular character released as a variant in every single wave sold.

[DELTAprime]

Since they are both American companies expect possible formal objections not just from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) but also politicians from the local level all the way up to the federal level. It's highly possible that if the merger is real it will be scuttled by formal objections.

[Sharky]

I'm thinking about Matty Collector. While it would be interesting for Hasbro to introduce a comprehensive subscription service for TFs (maybe for MPs?), it would probably mean all of the crap people get from Matty Collector would be visited on TF fans.

Pretty sure Fun Pub was pretty good if not better then mattycollector at this, whilst not Hasbro themselves they were "endorsed"

[Gofigure]

I'm thinking about Matty Collector. While it would be interesting for Hasbro to introduce a comprehensive subscription service for TFs (maybe for MPs?), it would probably mean all of the crap people get from Matty Collector would be visited on TF fans. Further, while I would wish for MOTU figures to be available at retail in decent numbers at an affordable price point, it probably means we'd also see a popular character released as a variant in every single wave sold.

This. Im all for this.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I've always wondered what if Barbie's pink convertable was also a Transformer...

The Malibu Stacey one is