If Elon Musk wanted to create a classic fantasy role-playing franchise with none of the wokery that now inhabits Dungeons & Dragons, he could do it a dozen times over with his riches. But why bother when you can just buy parent company Hasbro and run the real thing into the ground?
Hasbro stock climbed Friday after Elon Musk mused about buying the toy making powerhouse for the rights to Dungeons & Dragons. The day prior, Musk announced plans to start his own artificial intelligence video game studio. … Following Musk's comments, Hasbro's stock experienced a notable uptick, increasing by over 3% at the time of writing. The company's shares have shown a remarkable recovery, rebounding 25% this year after a previous 16% decline in 2023. As of the latest update, Hasbro's stock was priced at $65.98, reflecting a 3.27% rise on the day. The market capitalization of Hasbro stands at $8.9 billion, highlighting its significant presence in the industry. Investors have responded positively to the potential acquisition, as indicated by the rise in Hasbro's IBD Relative Strength Rating from 74 to 81.
Hasbro is in the news after a whiffed effort at financing movies and layoffs. Already carved up between various corporate and equity group owners, it wouldn't be difficult to engineer a private takeover assuming the funds were at hand—say, a billionaire obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons, infuriated by its current direction, and happy to evict its current fanbase even if it ends up a sewer with much-reduced commercial prospects. You know, like Twitter.
The stock is surging, all the same, on the possibility of a sale. Musk tried to back out of his ill-advised Twitter bid and was forced to close on it it by the courts, enriching everyone canny enough to have anticipated that outcome. He'd need to drop about $9bn to buy Hasbro as it stands—given his telegraphing of the punch, the price would likely be higher by the time he could land the blow.
Here's the passage from a recent Dungeons & Dragons book intro that got him so upset. Specifically, criticism of sexist and racist language in early supplements. Slander! Slander!
