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Toys R Us Case Questions Essay

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Savannah Paterson FINAN Case Questions #5 Toys “R” Us LBO 1. What are the risks and merits of the transaction? This LBO transaction has both risk and profit potential. KKR, Bain, and Vornado Realty Trust face risk because the industry that Toys “R” Us (toys) is currently in, the retail toy industry, is in a decline. Industry sales have been down 4% in the last year, and analysts don’t have a positive projection for future sales in the US. This declining industry, and threat of new competitors such as Walmart and Target, make it hard to be profitable which makes it extremely risky for KKR, Bain, and Vornado. Another factor that needs to be considered when calculating risk, is that this transaction is a club deal, meaning that more …show more content…

At this point, analysts were expecting 0 to 2 percent growth in the retail toy industry over the next three to five years. Toys “R” Us and other incumbent firms in the industry were staring to see increasing competition from discount stores such as Walmart and Target. Toys “R” Us was feeling pressure from the discount stores, however since it was the largest firm in the specialty toy industry, it was better equipped to compete then its rivals. Now that these big discount stores were starting to enter into the industry, it made the retail toy industry highly competitive. Another issue in the industry was that the success of the incumbent firms depended on its ability to identify and follow product trends and demand. If a retailer over or underestimated the demand, it would have significant excess or shortage of inventory leading to lower profits. Also, the industry was greatly effected by consumer spending, and if the economy was slowing, their sales would mirror this trend. Although the industry as a whole was facing declined/ sustained growth, there was one segment in the market that was showing potential growth: the infant, toddler, and preschool market. Since there was an anticipated increase in infant population, and spending per child was raising, experts estimated sales would continue to grow at 3 to 6 percent. The retail toy industry in Europe, however, was not doing as bad. Toy sales in Europe in 2005 grew 3 percent

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