Just last week, Disney announced seemingly out of nowhere that they were buying up Lucasfilm for US$4 billion. And now, according to sources that talked to MTV Geek, the Mouse's attention may be turning to another company: Hasbro. They're reporting that serious, but very early high-level discussions have been happening between the two companies, though nothing has been agreed to. It sounds, at first glance, like nothing more than pure speculation, but such a deal would net Disney the rights to Transformers, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and just about every big-name board game out there known to mankind (Monopoly, Clue/Cluedo, Risk, Battleship). In short, other than being a toy company, Hasbro is an IP goldmine.
My personal thoughts on this? Shortly after the Lucasfilm deal was announced, I thought this was the move that would make the most sense for Disney in the next couple of years. Two lucrative franchises (MLP alone is back to being a money-printing machine), plus it's the company already doing the mainstream, Toys'R'Us Marvel and Star Wars collectibles. It makes a bit of sense, but on the other hand, Disney has just gone through one major acquisition and a Hasbro deal (which would likely be in the $4-5 billion neighborhood, given Hasbro's reported value) would not come cheap at all. I have doubts we'll hear anything from this for a bit, if it even happens. We also have to remember that this is nothing more than rumors at this point, and any business deal can disintegrate overnight. There are many tales of "surely done deals" that never materialized because things never came together behind the scenes.
So in short, it's plausible as heck, but for now, I wouldn't put too much faith in the rumors. The only thing that's for certain is that Disney and Hasbro are going to be business partners for quite a few years to come (the Star Wars deal they have runs until at least 2017), and there's been no hint of other possibly interested parties, so I doubt anyone is in a rush. What do you think, Tomopeeps?
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Thanks to BBTS we have news and images of the Make Toys MakeToys MB-01-SP1 Missile Launcher Jungle Type action figure set. Also announced is the MB-01-SP2 Missile Launcher Marine Type set. These sets are estimated to arrive in December 2012 with a pre-order price of $54.99 USD. Check out the images of both sets for more details. Pre-order them now at bigbadtoystore.com.
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Thanks to Uranus over at ACToys who has posted some new in-hand images of the FansProject WB003 Warbot Assaulter action figure. These are the best images we have seen yet of the triple changer action figure that is arguably a homage to the Generation 1 Broadside character. There's little to compare with the G1 toy really. Assaulter has an fantastic battle cruiser mode, bad ass jet mode and the robot is pretty dang sweet too. All making for a real winner that everyone is gonna want after seeing these images. Check out the full image gallery for FansProject WB003 Warbot Assaulter now.
Gosh, if there ever was a rumor I didn't want to be true. It is this one just in via MTV Geek that Disney and Hasbro are in talks about an acquisition. With the pocket-book open and Star Wars in the cart, it seem the Mouse is looking for more cheese in Hasbro's library of brands including Transformers, My Little Pony, GI Joe, Battleship, Nerf, Magic: The Gathering, Monopoly, and literally 100s of toys and games kids have grown up with for decades.
