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On Topps
Michael Eisner's group paid $385 million for bubble gum?
Well, Eisner got his wish. The Topps deal has gone down.
In case you missed it, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and a group of investors prevailed in a fight with other stockholders to acquire the Brooklyn-based Topps Company, home of Bazooka Bubble Gum and Topps trading cards, Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages, et al. Eisner and his investment group paid a reported $385 million for Topps.
Not everyone is convinced this is a genius move.
Now what?
Well, Eisner seems to think that the Bazooka Joe character and his costars are ready for the big time. "Bazooka Joe could be the next big hero. Bazooka Joe is my new Mickey Mouse," he told USA Today.
But the "classic" characters were redesigned last year! Old characters were dropped and new ones added.
So what exactly is there to exploit?
There already was a short-lived, but relatively high profile line of comic books, none of which featured Bazooka Joe or any of his, er, posse, past or present — though they did have one that featured the somewhat freakish Barbi Twins of Playboy fame.
But Eisner and his group must have a plan, right? For $385 million, they'd better!
Richard Pachter is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Business.
In case you missed it, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and a group of investors prevailed in a fight with other stockholders to acquire the Brooklyn-based Topps Company, home of Bazooka Bubble Gum and Topps trading cards, Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages, et al. Eisner and his investment group paid a reported $385 million for Topps.
Not everyone is convinced this is a genius move.
Now what?
Well, Eisner seems to think that the Bazooka Joe character and his costars are ready for the big time. "Bazooka Joe could be the next big hero. Bazooka Joe is my new Mickey Mouse," he told USA Today.
But the "classic" characters were redesigned last year! Old characters were dropped and new ones added.
So what exactly is there to exploit?
There already was a short-lived, but relatively high profile line of comic books, none of which featured Bazooka Joe or any of his, er, posse, past or present — though they did have one that featured the somewhat freakish Barbi Twins of Playboy fame.
But Eisner and his group must have a plan, right? For $385 million, they'd better!
Richard Pachter is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Business.
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