Republished July 30, 2015 - 3:14 PM
Original Publication Date July 30, 2015 - 8:40 AM
TORONTO - Shares of Spin Master Corp. (TSX:TOY) moved higher on Thursday as the toymaker behind Zoomer robot dogs and remote-controlled Air Hogs debuted as a public company.
The Toronto-based firm, which made its initial public offering at $18 per share, closed 25 cents higher on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Earlier in the session, Spin Master shares briefly went as high as $18.64.
Spin Master manufactures a range of toys including Bakugan Battle Brawlers and board games like Moustache Smash and Shark Mania.
It employs more than 850 people around the world.
The company has been on an acquisition tear in recent months and raised $220 million through the IPO.
Last month, Spin Master bought Cardinal Industries, one of the oldest privately held toy companies in the United States, for an undisclosed price.
Next year, the company will distribute a new line of Teletubbies toys to coincide with a reboot of the franchise by Halifax-based DHX Media (TSX:DHX).
Spin Master was started in 1994 on $10,000 by three college friends — Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabie and Ben Varadi — and has grown into an international toymaker.
The company operates on a dual class share structure with public stock listed as subordinate voting shares while principal shareholders own multiple voting shares.
The structure gives the principal shareholders 10 votes for every single vote on a subordinate share.
As a result, Spin Master's founders have control of about 98 per cent of the voting power, which makes the company immune to hostile takeover offers.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015