Mattel has completed 3 recorded acquisitions and 0 divestitures or spin-offs, spanning 1993 to 1998.
| Date | Type | Assets | Counterparty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1998 | Acquisition | American Girl | — | $700m |
| May 1997 | Acquisition | Matchbox | — | $755m |
| Nov 1993 | Acquisition | Fisher-Price | — | $1.1bn |
Mattel acquired Pleasant Company, maker of American Girl dolls, for about $700 million. Each doll comes with historical fiction set in a particular period, and the books address subjects including slavery and internment, which is unusual for a toy line.
Mattel acquired Tyco Toys for about $755 million, taking Matchbox with it. That put Matchbox and Hot Wheels, rivals since 1968, under one owner; Mattel has kept both ranges in production rather than merging them.
Mattel acquired Fisher-Price for about $1.1 billion in stock, adding infant and preschool toys to a company built on Barbie and Hot Wheels. Fisher-Price had published a set of design principles about intrinsic play value in its first year of trading, 1930.
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