The venerable collectibles company Topps Co. has announced it is going public through a merger with a ‘blank cheque firm’ in a deal that values the combined company at $1.3 billion. Michael D. Eisner, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Disney and Chairman of The Topps Company, will become Chairman of the combined company’s board of directors. The combined company will continue to be led by Michael Brandstaedter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Topps. “The strong emotional connection between the Topps brand and consumers of all ages is truly foundational, and, when combined with our growing portfolio of strategic licensing partnerships, creates a profitable business model with meaningful competitive advantages,” said Eisner. “Equally important, the management team at the helm of Topps, which we’ve been building for the… . . . read more
Topps Releases the Monster of All NFTs
Collectibles Leader Topps Digital Issuing Godzilla NFT Collectibles on March 31 If you’ve been reading a lot about NFTs and were wondering when it would hit the world of licensing … it already has, as collectibles firm Topps Digital continues to introduce exciting new products on the WAX Blockchain. Tomorrow, on March 31, Topps will conintue to build on its reputation as one of the first innovators in digital collectibles, celebrating Toho’s iconic franchise by bringing the studio’s classic monsters, including the King of the Monsters, Godzilla, to the modern platform of NFTs via the WAX blockchain. Topps has been the preeminent creator and innovator of physical cards and digital collectibles for more than 70 years,. Generations of fans have enjoyed the pleasure of collecting, trading and showing off their card collections,… . . . read more
Garbage Pail Kids Face Off With Madballs
Cloudco Entertainment, owner of the venerable-but-irreverent Madballs™ brand, and The Topps Company, owner of the renowned-yet-subversive Garbage Pail Kids® brand (“GPK”), have teamed up for a collaboration that playfully pits classic 1980s icons and “co-heavyweights of gross” against one another. The collaboration will feature all-new 1980s inspired artwork from veteran Madballs and GPK illustrators and kick off with a number of consumer goods partners, including trading cards, collector toys, soft lines, collectible augmented reality pins, and more. As an original “gross out” brand of the 1980s, Topps released its Garbage Pail Kids series of trading cards in 1985, featuring hilariously revolting characters with appropriately irreverent names. Fifteen different card series were produced over the next three years in addition to a Garbage Pail Kids animated series and a full slate… . . . read more