The timing could be right for the makers of Monopoly and Barbie to do a deal (MAT, HAS)

pulse

March 14, 2017 8:43 PM

The time could be right for a combination of toy makers Hasbro and Mattel, according to UBS.

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The time could be right for a combination of toy makers Hasbro and Mattel.

Hasbro makes things like Monopoly, My Little Pony, and Nerf while Mattel makes stuff like Barbie and Hot Wheels.

Arpine Kocharyan, who said they had "

Bloomberg reported last year that the two had held merger talks, but the conversations didn't go anywhere.

But there's a couple of reasons to believe that a combination now would make sense, according to UBS.

First, there could be a broader consolidation in the toy market anyway. UBS said:

Second, Mattel is currently trading at 15x 2018 estimated earnings per share, while Hasbro is trading at 19-20x.

Third, the UBS models project that if Hasbro pays a 30% premium for Mattel stock, a take out price of $33 a share, Mattel would save $80 million in synergies the first year, $240 million the second, and $400 million by the third. The result would be a 33% increase in Hasbro's EPS by 2019.

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