Mattel Approached By Authentic Brands For Takeover

Last week, Mattel was approached by Authentic Brands, the owner of brands like Care Bears, Rebook, Sports Illustrated, and the estates of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, about a $6 billion dollar takeover of the entire company. While this is just speculation and has no form of deal yet, it is concerning for the future of American Girl considering that Authentic Brands is owned by several private equity firms. For example, when Authentic Brands bought Forever 21, they sucked every last ounce of profit dry from them before shutting them down forever. American Girl has already been struggling under the new Mattel leadership, and I am concerned about what another leadership change could do for American Girl and losing its historical focus.