Intrepid, a leading middle-market investment banking firm, announced the sale of substantially all of the assets of Wild Planet Entertainment, Inc. (Wild Planet), including the popular toy brand Spy Gear, to Spin Master Ltd. (Spin Master). Intrepid acted as exclusive financial advisor to Wild Planet in connection with this transaction.
Founded in 1993, San Francisco-based Wild Planet is a designer and marketer of branded children’s toys that actively engage children ages 4 to 10 and promote imaginative, evergreen play patterns. Launched in 1998, Wild Planet’s Spy Gear line is the leading active spy brand for kids. Spy Gear products integrate technology and functionality in an easy-to-use format for children.
Spin Master is a multi-category children’s entertainment company. Since 1994, Spin Master has been designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer products for children around the world and is recognized as a global growth leader within the toy industry. Spin Master is best known for such popular brands as Air Hogs®, Appfinity™, Aquadoodle™, La Dee Da™, Nano Speed™, Spin Master Games™, Tech Deck™, and Zoobles™. Spin Master employs over 900 people with offices in Toronto, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Mexico, Munich, Italy, Spain and central Europe.
“I am deeply gratified at what Wild Planet has achieved since its founding by delivering innovative, intelligent and engaging products for kids around the world,” said Danny Grossman, Wild Planet’s Founder and CEO until 2011. “Given its innovative, path breaking orientation, Spin Master is the ideal partner for marketing Wild Planet’s brands.”
“Intrepid’s tenacity and creative thinking helped us achieve an attractive outcome for Wild Planet," said Larry Del Santo, Wild Planet’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that Spin Master is the ideal buyer for Spy Gear and we are very excited about the continued success and future opportunities for these evergreen brands.”
“We have known the management and board of Wild Planet for over a decade and were pleased to have been able to assist the Company in this very important transaction," commented Mike Rosenberg, Senior Managing Director at Intrepid. Adam Abramowitz, Managing Director at Intrepid who managed the transaction said, “Spy Gear has exciting growth opportunities, especially with the additional support of Spin Master. We believe that this brand has found a great partner for continued success.”