New World Posts Its First Quarterly Loss : Entertainment Company Still Pursuing Acquisition of Kenner Parker

New World Entertainment, which is trying to acquire Kenner Parker Toys for $447 million, Friday announced its first quarterly loss since becoming a public company two years ago.

The Los Angeles-based movie and television production company and comic book publisher posted a second-quarter loss of $3.6 million, versus a profit of $2 million in the second quarter of 1986. But New World’s sales, boosted by a spree of acquisitions late last year and rising television production revenue, totaled $87.6 million, up from $32.2 million a year earlier.

Robert Rehme, co-chairman and chief executive, blamed the company’s deficit primarily on a $3-million bond-trading loss incurred during April’s bond market slump.

New World disclosed its results after the close of stock trading Friday. Its stock closed on the American Stock Exchange at $10, down 25 cents.

In its latest acquisition effort, New World has made an unsolicited offer of $41 a share for the 91.6% of Kenner Parker’s 10.7 million outstanding shares it does not already own, along with notes convertible into an additional 1.1 million shares. Lawrence L. Kuppin, a New World co-chairman, offered in a letter to Kenner Parker on Thursday “the opportunity to negotiate all aspects of our offer, including price.”

Kenner Parker has not responded publicly to New World’s entreaties. The stock of the Beverly, Mass., company closed at $46.50 Friday, up $1, as takeover stock speculators apparently acquired shares in hopes of a higher offer.

A toy industry analyst, however, said that New World’s $41-a-share bid represented “a fair price,” and doubted that a much higher offer would follow.

“I think $45 is the high range of a very rich valuation,” said Barry Rothberg of Mabon, Nugent & Co., a New York investment firm.

Kenner Parker, which had earnings of $16.0 million on sales of $502.8 million last year, has based its legal defense on a 10-year-old Massachusetts law designed to prevent hostile takeovers. The law bars those who buy more than 5% of a company’s stock without notifying management from launching a hostile takeover in the next 12 months.

Massachusetts Superior Court will be the scene of a showdown on Monday, when Kenner Parker will seek a preliminary injunction to block New World’s offer, said Eric Waxman, an attorney representing New World.

Kenner Parker makes Play-Doh and such popular board games as Monopoly and Risk.

New World Entertainment, once a low-budget movie producer known as New World Pictures, has grown rapidly through a series of acquisitions. Last year, the company bought two small film studios and Marvel Entertainment Group, the largest U.S. comic book publisher.