Mattel in Talks With PE Firms About a Potential Sale

Mattel (NASDAQ:) is reportedly talking to buyout firms to explore a potential sale, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move comes just a few months after the company completed its financial recovery.

The report says that Mattel has held discussions with private equity firms such as Apollo Global Management (NYSE:) and L Catterton, though talks are still in an early phase and may not result in a deal.

However, if Mattel agrees to sell, it would be a large-scale deal based on the toymaker’s $8 billion market cap. The deal would mark the latest addition to a series of leveraged buyouts as private equity firms look to spend the substantial amount of capital they amassed since the pandemic.

Mattel completed its corporate turnaround in February and has entered the “growth mode”, said the company’s CEO Ynon Kreiz. The toymaker’s sales surged 19% in 2021, though its share price remained relatively unchanged over the past year.

Mattel appointed Kreiz as CEO in 2018 and since then, sales of the company have seen significant recovery following years of declines and the loss of key licensing rights. Since his appointment, Kreiz cut a third of jobs at the company and shut down multiple factories, as well as helped the toy company fix its relationships with retailers and Hollywood studios.

Earlier this year, Mattel obtained licensing rights to make toys based on Disney’s princess characters such as Anna and Elsa from the popular “Frozen” franchise.

By Senad Karaahmetovic