WotC Caught Up In Proxy Fight As Analysts Call For Spin-Off
Alta Fox Capital Management singles out Wizards of the Coast as Hasbro’s Hidden Jewel amid calls for it to be spun off into its own company.
Alta Fox Capital, an “asset management firm” holding 2.5% of Hasbro’s shares, has called for Wizards of the Coast to be spun into its own company as it nominates five “independent” members to Hasbro’s board, including former professional Magic player Jon Finkel.
Alta Fox has wants to mine the “hidden gem” of Hasbro, creating a tax-free spin-off that it projects will more increase its stock price by up to $100. As part of its plan to revamp WotC, Alta Fox would also create a “one-stop-shop digital subscription & pay-as-you-go offering for a true-to-physical Dungeons & Dragons experience”.
Alta Fox also compared Wizards of the Coast to Formula 1 and Games Workshop, looking at their prospects as a company independent of Hasbro with its own board of directors.
Hasbro has responded, per CNBC:
“Hasbro engages in regular communication with its shareholders as part of its robust shareholder engagement program and welcomes constructive input.”
Hasbro votes in new directors to the board in spring. This is an interesting development for incoming Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks. Cocks, as the former president of WotC, is going to be steering Hasbro once his term as CEO begins. In the meantime, Alta Fox has launched a website calling for Hasbro to “let Wizards go.”
What does this mean for the future of WotC? It looks like change is coming, one way or another.
