Hasbro to Buy Tiger Electronics

Hasbro Inc. said it will buy Tiger Electronics Inc., the maker of Giga Pets and Laser Tag, for $335 million in cash to boost its share of the growing market for electronic toys. The world’s No. 2 toy maker said it will pay an additional sum for tooling, equipment, inventory and certain prepaid assets of Tiger, a closely held company based in Vernon Hills, Ill. The amount wasn’t disclosed. The move comes as Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro seeks to increase sales and earnings to catch up to No. 1 toy maker Mattel Inc., which last week said it will work with Intel Corp. to develop standards to make computers and toys interactive. Tiger had about $400 million in sales last year and has about 275 employees. Giga Pets, electronic devices that owners must “care for,” accounted for about 20% of Tiger’s revenue last year. Hasbro’s sales last year were $3.19 billion, while Mattel’s sales were $4.83 billion. Shares in Hasbro fell 44 cents to close at $35.25 on the American Stock Exchange.