Mattel, Tyco to Amend Purchase Terms

Tyco Toys Inc. said it and Mattel Inc. will amend their purchase agreement to create a Mattel preferred stock, easing a problem with some investors that threatened the $755-million sale. Holders of Tyco’s Series C preferred shares, which pay an 8.25% dividend, will get newly issued Mattel preferred stock that has an equal value, said a spokesman for Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Tyco. Investors in Tyco’s Series C had protested the original plan, which would have converted their preferred stock to Tyco common stock and then to Mattel common stock. That would have cost them the dividend, which has a future value of about $16 million. El Segundo-based Mattel, the world’s largest toy maker, agreed this week to buy No. 3 Tyco for about $12.50 a share. Mattel gained 50 cents to $30.50 and Tyco rose 25 cents to $11.625 on the New York Stock Exchange.