Crowdfunding for Toys “R” Us doesn’t include Canadian stores
Toy company executive Isaac Larian is hoping to keep Toys “R” Us’s Canadian operations from going out of business, but a $1 billion crowdfunding campaign he launched to rescue the company doesn’t include the country’s stores.
The executive behind California-based MGA Entertainment Inc., which makes Little Tikes, Bratz and L.O.L. Surprise! toys, announced on Thursday that he and some affiliated investors were seeking $800 million from toy lovers in hopes of acquiring “all or some” of Toy “R” Us’s assets, thus “saving the retail chain and preserving the Toys “R” Us experience for future generations.”
The efforts focus on Toys “R” Us’s U.S. stores and are separate from Larian’s attempts to buy the brand’s 82 Canadian stores, which 20 interested parties are vying for, said Toys “R” Us bankruptcy documents filed in the U.S.
“Toys “R” Us Canada is a good business,” Larian said in a statement previously. “They run it efficiently, and have good leadership. At the right price, it makes economical sense.”
Though the Canadian arm of the company filed for creditor protection in September, it said it has enough financing to stay afloat, even while the company shutters its business in the U.S. and U.K. and is reportedly likely to liquidate its ventures in Australia, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
Its Canadian operations are autonomous from its U.S. dealings, but Toys “R” Us CEO David Brandon has said the company will try to bundle its Canadian business with about 200 U.S. stores as it looks to find a buyer.
Larian hasn’t said how much of Toys “R” Us he is seeking.
On Thursday, Larian was drumming up attention for his crowdfunding campaign — which he admitted is for a “staggering” total — but explains that “it would take a very large sum to create a successful bid for the acquisition of such a large entity.”