MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian has officially thrown in the towel in his mission to rescue Toys ‘R’ Us from liquidation in the US.
“I am most disheartened that the legacy of the retailer will be lost for future generations,” Larian said in a statement. He added that he wasn’t able to reach a deal with the company’s lenders.
The CEO announced in April this year that intended to rescue all of some of the toy retailer’s US operations from liquidation and that he had placed a $675 million bid for 200 of the remaining 735 Toys R Us locations in the States.
He also bid for all of the more than 80 locations in Canada.
However, the bid was rejected for ‘being too low.’ Larian hoped that by keeping Toys R Us open, he would be able to save jobs and protect the toy industry.
Larian’s decision to now give up on the fight comes soon after his efforts to merge MGA Entertainment with the struggling toymaker, Mattel fell flat.
“The Mattel board unanimously concluded that this proposal is not in the best interests of Mattel and its shareholders,:” read the response from Mattel’s outgoing CEO Christopher Sinclair.
“Mattel is not interested in further discussing the matter with you.”
With this news it looks highly likely that Toys ‘R’ Us will not be rescued in the US, and the stores will close for the final time in the coming weeks.
