Mattel’s (MAT) stock has been struggling lately. Today also the news was released that the company’s CEO Kreiz is leaving.
At the same time, the Barbie 2 movie project (based on Mattel IP) has been stuck in negotiations between Warner Bros., the actors, and the director. My assumption is that these negotiations were not moving forward because Warner Bros. is currently being acquired by Paramount, but the deal had not yet been finalized due to antitrust concerns, which now appear to have been resolved.
Now it turns out that Mattel’s CEO is leaving for none other than Paramount, where he will take on the role of co-CEO.
Bloomberg just reported: “Paramount Names Kreiz Co-CEO With Warner Bros. Acquisition Near.”
From my perspective this makes it pretty clear that the Barbie 2 project will get the green light. On top of that i think we can expect more movies and TV series based on Mattel IP going forward.
This news is fairly bullish for Mattel. Especially since the company has been trying to transform itself into more of an IP company rather than just a toy manufacturer.
Having its former CEO at Paramount should certainly be useful in that regard.