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- #1
Here are some factors.
http://www.thedeal.com/content/priv...backers-exit-both-tied-to-digital-success.php
EXCERPTS
The New York-based company operates three apps. Topps BUNT is the exclusive digital trading card game for Major League Baseball in which users own cards and earn points based on the real-time performance of real-life players. Topps HUDDLE is a digital trading card game for football players. And Topps KICK is a digital trading card game for the Barclays Premier League.
Topps gained an initial foothold in the digital space on July 26, 2011, when it bought digital currency products provider GMG Entertainment for an undisclosed sum. GMG operates as a wholly owned division of the company as Topps Digital Services, through which it houses the three digital apps. Topps BUNT, launched in April 2012 for iOS devices, already appears to be gaining traction; the company on June 4 released the app for Android devices.
"It's a great brand, historic brand, well-known to virtually everyone," said Rosenberg, whose Los Angeles-based firm advised science-themed toy company Uncle Milton Industries Inc.
Madison Dearborn and Tornante own 75% and 25% of Topps, respectively. The company has $205 million in total debt, with $175 million of that being term loans. Some $40 million in debt is due in October 2015, and a $30 million revolver matures in July 2018, according to Bloomberg data.
Toy companies such as Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc., or perhaps a non-U.S. company -- the Japan baseball market, for example, is huge -- might not be completely out of the picture if Topps' owners do pursue a sale, Iannini said, indicating that it would have to be at the right price and depend on the growth of its digital offerings.
Other factors continue to favor Topps, sources said, pointing to its exclusive rights to make and sell cards with Major League Baseball's logos and players. The company secured its exclusive license agreement with the MLB on Aug. 6, 2009, and on March 18, 2013, announced it had extended the agreement through 2020.
The deal with the MLB has helped eliminate much of Topps remaining competition, including Upper Deck and Panini America Inc., which in previous years had also produced versions of baseball trading cards.
TL;DR Topps digital properties, partnerships and distribution channels are quite valuable. The right company could scoop them up and profit handily. The industry and the hobby as a whole would benefit if Panini America went in and bought Topps and let them operate as Topps has been with minor improvements. Whatever beef you have with them, I assure you it can be fixed and we can get back to the Topps we all know and love.
http://www.thedeal.com/content/priv...backers-exit-both-tied-to-digital-success.php
EXCERPTS
The New York-based company operates three apps. Topps BUNT is the exclusive digital trading card game for Major League Baseball in which users own cards and earn points based on the real-time performance of real-life players. Topps HUDDLE is a digital trading card game for football players. And Topps KICK is a digital trading card game for the Barclays Premier League.
Topps gained an initial foothold in the digital space on July 26, 2011, when it bought digital currency products provider GMG Entertainment for an undisclosed sum. GMG operates as a wholly owned division of the company as Topps Digital Services, through which it houses the three digital apps. Topps BUNT, launched in April 2012 for iOS devices, already appears to be gaining traction; the company on June 4 released the app for Android devices.
"It's a great brand, historic brand, well-known to virtually everyone," said Rosenberg, whose Los Angeles-based firm advised science-themed toy company Uncle Milton Industries Inc.
Madison Dearborn and Tornante own 75% and 25% of Topps, respectively. The company has $205 million in total debt, with $175 million of that being term loans. Some $40 million in debt is due in October 2015, and a $30 million revolver matures in July 2018, according to Bloomberg data.
Toy companies such as Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc., or perhaps a non-U.S. company -- the Japan baseball market, for example, is huge -- might not be completely out of the picture if Topps' owners do pursue a sale, Iannini said, indicating that it would have to be at the right price and depend on the growth of its digital offerings.
Other factors continue to favor Topps, sources said, pointing to its exclusive rights to make and sell cards with Major League Baseball's logos and players. The company secured its exclusive license agreement with the MLB on Aug. 6, 2009, and on March 18, 2013, announced it had extended the agreement through 2020.
The deal with the MLB has helped eliminate much of Topps remaining competition, including Upper Deck and Panini America Inc., which in previous years had also produced versions of baseball trading cards.
TL;DR Topps digital properties, partnerships and distribution channels are quite valuable. The right company could scoop them up and profit handily. The industry and the hobby as a whole would benefit if Panini America went in and bought Topps and let them operate as Topps has been with minor improvements. Whatever beef you have with them, I assure you it can be fixed and we can get back to the Topps we all know and love.
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