Hasbro Rejects the Call to Split the Company

Hasbro Inc. rejected activist investors' call to spin off the Wizards of the Coast game unit and added two directors to its board to host a proxy dispute at the upcoming annual meeting.

Mr Stoddart said that a spinoff would diminish the benefits, the division gets from Hasbro’s long-standing strategy, called the Brand Blueprint, that focuses on telling stories around its brands to help sell products.

The company also said that it has added two executives with technology and gaming expertise to its board. The new directors, Elizabeth Hamren, COO at Discord Inc, and Blake Jorgensen, former finance chief and COO at Electronics Arts Inc were also appointed to the board last week.

Alta Fox, which owns around 2.5% of Hasbro shares, called for spinning off Wizards of the Coast and proposed five new directors to the board. 

In a securities filing, Hasbro has said that it has interviewed two of Alta Fox’s nominees that the hedge fund made available along with reviewing the qualifications of the other three. It concluded that the new executives will most likely impact the company’s operations positively and enhance its shareholder value.