OTHER NEWS - Feb. 6, 1996

Hasbro Shareholders Group Files Suit: The group is protesting the toy maker for rejecting a $5.2-billion takeover bid from rival Mattel Inc. and demanding that the company put itself up for sale. The plaintiffs also asked in its suit filed last week that Hasbro Inc., the nation’s second-largest toy maker after Mattel, be prevented from using its shareholder-rights plan, which would make any takeover attempt “prohibitively expensive.” Mattel withdrew its offer to buy Hasbro on Friday, the day the suit was filed, citing an “intolerable climate” created by its competitor’s use of the media and politicians. Mattel was willing to pay 73% more than Hasbro’s market price before the bid. “This is a huge premium the company is not likely to see for many years and it had a fiduciary responsibility to pursue it,” said Robert Harwood, an attorney who is representing the shareholders. Wayne Charness, a spokesman for Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro, declined to comment on the suit, which also names the company’s board.