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Funtastic acquires Toys R Us and raises $29m
Johnson Winter & Slattery has advised on Funtastic’s acquisition of the Toys R Us brand and its $29 million capital raising.
Tony Zhang
Firm: Johnson Winter & Slattery (Funtastic).
Value: $32.6 million.
Area: M&A, capital markets.
Key players: The Johnson Winter & Slattery team was led by Byron Koster (consultant), along with Donald Hacker (special counsel), Kate Gardner (senior associate) and Jemma Potezny (associate).
Deal significance: The transaction will give Funtastic access to the HWG’s logistics and distribution channels, including an e-commerce platform which has one of the largest ranges of baby, toy and hobby products in Australia. It also signals the reopening of Toys R Us and Babies R Us bricks-and-mortar stores across Australia.
The transaction involved the acquisition of HWG for share consideration representing 34.43 per cent of the issued capital of Funtastic valued at approximately $32.6 million, a recapitalisation through a $29 million placement (fully underwritten by Canaccord Genuity [Australia] Limited) and a conversion of $6 million of Funtastic’s existing debt to equity.
Funtastic obtained shareholder approval to give effect to the transaction at its AGM on 23 November 2020 and completed the acquisition, placement and debt conversion on 26 November 2020.
Johnson Winter & Slattery advised on all aspects of the transaction, including negotiating the terms of the acquisition, implementing the capital raising and procuring various shareholder approvals to give effect to the transaction.
Mr Koster said the firm was proud to have supported Funtastic on this strategic transaction.
“Given the challenges 2020 has thrown at the retail sector it is positive to see that growth is on the horizon,” he said.
“Funtastic is well-positioned to take advantage of Toys R Us’ strong brand in Australia and the opportunity to grow its e-commerce business.”
