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Non-Tech : KIDE a good play to capitalize on Pokemon craze -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: out_of_the_loop who wrote (394)	9/9/1999 1:14:00 PM
From: John Peckenpaugh	Respond to of 1239

Greetings, Pokemon mania began in our household (two boys 5 and 8)just before Christmas '98. I looked into it as an ivestment possibilty in January 99. I saw: Strange characters too soft to be popular with American Kids, a probable fad, complexity above the capability of kids in ages most interested in it, a hopeless babble of names and powers and morphed creations, etc. etc.---I was wrong ! Within a month I began buying the stock and continued to buy more as I learned about 4Kids' Licencing strategy and successes to date. I am pounding the table and begging my friends to look into it, understand it, and make their own decisions, but not to remain ignorant about it. As for how high can it go (based on earnings) in six months, you tell me, but I did listen to an analyst named Grey on a VCall broadcast recently who predicted '99 KIDE EPS of from $2.19/shr to $3.25/shr. Based on that it will go higher, but no one knows how much higher. Good Luck to all the Longs, JYP

To: out_of_the_loop who wrote (394)	9/9/1999 2:52:00 PM
From: Madeleine Harrison	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1239

Hi Howard.. just thought I'd post this to pass the time of day: (ROL) Hasbro To Buy Pokemon Card Maker Hasbro To Buy Pokemon Card Maker NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pokemon trading cards, which have exploded into a craze among children, are joining Monopoly, Star Wars toys and G.I. Joe in Hasbro Inc.'s huge toy and game stable. Hasbro, the world's No. 2 toymaker, is buying Wizards of the Coast Inc., which makes Pokemon trading cards and Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games, for $325 million, the companies said Thursday. Privately-held Wizards of the Coast was founded in 1990 by Peter Adkison, and is also known for Magic: The Gathering, a big-selling trading card game with more than six million players using 10 different languages. Wizards of the Coast also sponsors a worldwide tournament program for hobby game enthusiasts and owns and operates almost 70 retail game establishments. Adkison and senior management will continue to run Wizards, which is based outside of Seattle. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act has expired, and the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of September of 1999. Since Wizards is a private company, the companies were able to seek approval from the government ahead of announcing the deal. Pokemon has spawned a barrage of product tie-ins since the Nintendo Co. Ltd. video game's debut in 1998. Pokemon's commercial horizons have expanded to trading cards, cartoons and clothing. ''Wizards of the Coast will enable us to significantly expand in the fast-growing games arena, which is a cornerstone of our growth strategy for the new millennium,'' said Hasbro Chairman Alan Hassenfeld. Hasbro, the Pawtucket, R.I.-based maker of Playskool, Nerf, and Tonka toys as well as Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers board games, also expects to extend Wizards of the Coast game formats to computer software and online gaming, Hassenfeld said. ''The year-round nature of these businesses will help to balance the seasonality of our diversified portfolio,'' he said. The purchase price will be subject to adjustment based on Wizards' audited net assets and contingent payment rights, the companies said. The deal is expected to have no material impact on Hasbro's earnings per share in 1999 and to add to earnings in 2000 and beyond, Hasbro said. Last week, Play-By-Play Toys & Novelties Inc. received rights to make and distribute Pokemon toys, giving Play-By-Play's stock a boost from less than $1.50 a share to its current $4.75. Time Warner Inc.'s WB network broadcasts Pokemon cartoons imported from Japan. In 1998, Hasbro bought Tiger Electronics for $335 million in a deal added the electronic toy Furby to Hasbro's product line. The acquisition has also led to the introduction of hand-held electronic versions of Hasbro's Parker Brothers games. Hasbro shares fell $0.06 to $24.75 in afternoon trading. * end of story *