By Mattel Inc. has held talks with private-equity firms about a potential sale, people familiar with the matter said, just a few months after the famed toy company declared its corporate turnaround complete.
Mattel
MAT,
-4.70%
has held informal talks with firms including Apollo Global Management Inc.
APO,
-5.96%
and L Catterton, the people said. The talks are at an early stage and may not result in a deal.
If there is one, it would be sizable. Mattel had a market capitalization of about $8 billion as of the close of the market Tuesday. It would add to a recent string of big leveraged buyouts, as private-equity firms look to spend a mountain of cash they have accumulated.
Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz said in February that Mattel had completed its turnaround and was “now in growth mode.” Mattel reported a sales jump of 19% in 2021 and said profits rose. Yet its shares have barely budged over the past year and have done little in the past two decades.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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