Mattel, Inc

Heller Report on Educational Technology Markets, Nov, 2000

Mattel, Inc. (New York, NY) sold The Learning Company to Gores Technology Group (Los Angeles, CA), a leading privately held international acquisition and management company. Gores pursues an aggressive strategy of acquiring promising high-technology organizations and managing them for growth and profitability.

Purchase price was not disclosed; however, just prior to the sale Wall Street rumors indicated that the two final bidders were offering Mattel deals ranging from $0 to $50 million in upfront cash, with a promise of paying a percentage of The Learning Company's future earnings. Mattel paid $3.5 billion for The Learning Company in mid-1999.