To quote famous American philosopher Snoop Dogg, Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) has its mind on its money and its money on its mind.
Its $4 billion purchase of UK company Entertainment One last week was meant to generate headlines around the acquisition of IP like Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. But the children's toy brand got more than it bargained for, when eagle-eyed reporters noticed that Hasbro is now the owner of infamous rap label Death Row Records. Not quite family friendly music, but maybe there are opportunities to do some sick crossovers with Mister Monopoly, Mr. Potatohead, Tupac, and Dr. Dre.
Once you get over the initial oddity of the inclusion of Death Row, the real reason why Hasbro wanted Entertainment One is its portfolio of characters (kids love Peppa Pig). And, already, Hasbro has been on a growth trajectory, as we can tell first looking at its LinkedIn ($MSFT) Employee Headcount.
This expansion should help out Hasbro, who is looking to get into more TV production and licensing of merchandise. “The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling,” Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said in an interview.
From the look of the recent spike in job listings, Goldner has his eye set on adding talent to handle that portfolio and creation.
Death Row went bankrupt back in 2006, and there's no real significance to owning it outside of the fact that who they wanted to buy just happened to have it. That's about it for that part of the tale, until Hasbro sells it to somebody else, down the line. Hard to see them actually using the songs in board games or toys. It does help with attracting social media buzz, though, so that's a nice bonus to acquiring such all-time classic albums as The Chronic and All Eyez on Me.
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