Shares of Mattel Inc. soared Monday after a report that Hasbro Inc. made a takeover offer for its rival toymaker.
Mattel closed at $17.64, up 20.7 percent.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the takeover offer Friday, citing unidentified sources. It said that terms of the possible deal were not available and that the offer could go nowhere.
On Friday, Hasbro and Mattel declined to comment on the report.
A combined Hasbro and Mattel would put such brands as Barbie, American Girl, G.I. Joe and Nerf under the same roof. Mattel has struggled with slumping sales despite the entrance earlier this year of new CEO Margo Georgiadis, a former Google executive who was expected to bring her digital know-how to the toymaker.
In late October, Mattel reported a 14 percent drop in its third-quarter sales, excluding the effect of currency fluctuations, and suspended its quarterly dividend. It blamed some of the decline on the recent bankruptcy filing of retailer Toys R Us Inc.
(James F. Peltz contributed to this report.)
