MTV is reporting that according to whispers within the industry, Disney is looking to purchase Hasbro. This would give them a huge edge over competitors bringing everything under the house of mouse. here's a brief snippet from their report.
"....we have it on good authority that serious discussions are happening at the highest levels of both Disney and Hasbro to fold the largest toy and game company on the planet into the Mouse.
From what we’re told, these are still just discussions at this point, but serious enough that something could be announced at any time and create ripples throughout the entertainment industry." So either take it with a grain of salt, or brace yourself for an upcoming announcement soon.
Click here for the full read and thanks to Tom from Louisville for the heads up!
UPDATE: Rebelscum reader Vincent T wrote in with a heads up to a great article over at
money.msn.com which pretty much lays everything out if this comes to pass, or why it wouldn't.
"Know what Disney didn't get for its more than $8 billion investment? The toy rights to its Star Wars and Marvel characters. Hasbro has held the rights to Star Wars toys since 1991, when it bought out Tonka and its Star Wars-coupled subsidiary Kenner. Hasbro is also contracted to produce Marvel-related toys until 2017, which means cash from any toy tie-ins for Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man or Avengers sequels made during that span funnels away from Disney.
That would make Disney understandably anxious to bring all that toy money ASAP, but there are a few messy little details that make this deal more dream than reality. First off, Hasbro's Transformers and G.I. Joe summer blockbusters are properties of Viacom's (VIA.B +7459883.50%) Paramount Pictures. That studio already watched Disney eat its lunch once when it bought Marvel and began transferring over film rights to everything after "Iron Man 3," so it's not likely to let two more cash cows leave quietly.
Secondly, there's the small matter of Hasbro's partnership with Discovery (DISCA -1.17%) on The Hub cable network. The Hub carries G.I. Joe, Transformers, Beyblade and other Hasbro-based animated series, which Disney would love to fold into its own cable channels.
Finally, there's the not insignificant matter of Disney's existing toy partner Mattel (MAT -1.52%). Disney Stores are filled with merchandise made by the biggest toymaker in the U.S., and buying a toy company could at the very least strain that relationship, which exists on a strictly contractual basis. Disney Princess items and other toys marketed to girls helped increase Mattel sales 22% last quarter, so losing the Mouse's support would be a huge hit to Mattel's toy box."Read the full article
here!