MGA’s Larian Drops Bid for Toys R Us

MGA Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Isaac Larian has withdrawn his offer to purchase hundreds of Toys R Us stores after he was unable to come to terms with the bankrupt retailer’s creditors. In April, Larian led a group of investors in making a $675 million bid to acquire 274 of Toys R Us’ 735 U.S. stores, which are currently in the process of being sold through liquidation proceedings. “We have officially withdrawn our bid to Save Toys R Us as we were unable to reach a fair agreement with the current lenders, who I believe did not provide a fair valuation of the remaining U.S. assets,” Larian said in a statement. Larian, whose toy manufacturing company MGA is based in Van Nuys, made the offer after initially pledging $200 million to an online public crowdfunding campaign he created to save Toy R Us out of bankruptcy. The goal was to raise $1 billion by May 28, but the effort netted only about $62,000 in public pledges. Larian has said that a healthy Toys R Us is essential for the toy industry and that MGA relied on the retailer for almost 20 percent of its sales. “As the maker of the #1 selling toy in the country, L.O.L. Surprise, Toys R Us has played a large part in growing our business and their absence will be felt by the toy industry at large,” he said. “Moreover, I am most disheartened that the legacy of the retailer will be lost for future generations.”