Casting uncertainty over the potential combination of the world’s two largest toy companies, Mattel has declined Hasbro‘s latest takeover approach, it is understood.
Mattel has informed Hasbro its proposal undervalues the company and does not take sufficiently into account the potential for regulators to reject the deal based on antitrust concerns.
A strong ‘no’ from Mattel indicates that Margaret Georgiadis who took over as the company’s chief executive in February, is seeking to drive a hard bargain in negotiations with Hasbro even though Mattel’s stock has significantly underperformed compared to that of Hasbro in the last year.
The terms Hasbro had proposed could not be gone through and it is not clear whether negotiations between the two companies will continue. The companies have engaged in multiple rounds of deal talks in the last two decades.
Hasbro did not immediately respond to a request for comment while Mattel declined to comment.
