Hsieh adds Wham-O; additional acquisitions pending
By Brent Felgner -- Playthings, 1/19/2006 1:06:00 PM
EMERYVILLE, Calif.—At least two additional toy company acquisitions are currently pending by the Hong Kong investor who just bought Wham-O.
The famous maker of Hula Hoop, Frisbee and Slip 'n Slide was bought by Jeff Hsieh, through an affiliate of his holding company, Cornerstone Overseas Investments. Financial terms of the buyout were not disclosed. Wham-O was bought from Charterhouse Group, a New York-based private-equity firm with more than $1.3 billion under management. It was owned earlier by Mattel for several years.
Hsieh is also CEO of Grand Toys International, owner of Toy Biz World Wide, and a partner in Zizzle, as well as owner of a variety of other toy industry and related companies throughout Asia, Europe and North America. He owns or controls seven factories in mainland China and manufacturers both under his brands and private label goods, including for Wal-Mart.
Hsieh recently ended a four-year licensing agreement with Marvel because new guarantees were too high, he said. Marvel then gave the $200 million dollar license to Hasbro.
Hsieh has been on an acquisition tear since 2003, seeking under-valued and under-capitalized companies around the globe. He also holds several major licenses in China and Asia and operates two retail chains involving more than 600 stores.
He has stated his total toy-related sales this year will exceed US$400 million, sans the Marvel bookings.
“Cornerstone is building a complete vertical operation in the toy and outdoor recreational related consumer product arenas, through strategic acquisitions and investments,” said James Rybakoff, CEO of Akin Bay Company LLC, Cornerstone’s investment bankers who handled the acquisition and the financing for Cornerstone.
To that end Hsieh recently acquired a printing and packaging company, also based in China. The two pending acquisitions have not yet been identified but Hsieh said late Sunday they are manufacturers of outdoor toys.
“This acquisition provides the Cornerstone group of companies the chance to leverage our worldwide manufacturing and distribution infrastructure with a classic and highly recognized brand name in outdoor recreation products dating back to the 1940’s,” Hsieh said in a prepared statement today. The companies expect a seamless transition between Cornerstone and Wham-O.
Hsieh said his existing companies and assets will be able to assist Wham-O in many aspects of its operations, including sourcing of production in its extensive manufacturing facilities in the South China factory zone and offering Wham-O’s products through its strong international distribution network.
Wham-O has a core product line of more than 70 products it claims are sold by virtually every toy retailer, sporting goods stores and mass merchant in the world.
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