Mattel, Inc. (MAT) Stock Briefly Surges on Alibaba (BABA) Toy Deal

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Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) stock spiked on Tuesday morning on news of a toy deal with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA).

Mattel, Inc., MAT, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, BABA, AlibabaMattel, Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd are working together to create toys for the Chinese market. This will have the toy company developing and selling toys with the aid of BABA’s media ecosystem. The aim is to create products that appeal to parents in the country.

Mattel, Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will also be working together on products to help child development. This will include using data from BABA’s  A.I. Lab to develop the toys.

“Play has a tremendous impact on a child’s cognitive, social and emotional growth,” Margo Georgiadis, CEO of Mattel, Inc., said in a statement. “By combining Mattel’s unmatched expertise in childhood learning and development, with Alibaba’s immense reach and unique consumer insights, our goal is to help parents in China raise children to be their personal best.”

The deal will have Mattel, Inc. selling and promoting its toys in China through Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Tmall.com marketplace. This will allow the toy company to target the 440 million active users of BABA’s online retail network.

Mattel, Inc. also says that it sees a lot of potential for growth in China. Georgiadis says that the toy market in the country is currently fragmented, but that MAT can develop and lead it in the future. The company hopes to reach both highly-populated and rural areas in China with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s assistance.

Financial details of the deal between Mattel, Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd weren’t revealed. The two companies are already developing toys together and plan to launch the first wave of products in China in mid-2017.

MAT stock is up slightly as of Tuesday morning following a spike when markets opened, and BABA stock is down 1%.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/02/mattel-inc-alibaba-group-holding-ltd-mat-baba/.

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