Black Twitter was rocked over the weekend when Hasbro toy company announced plans to purchase Entertainment One, a multimedia company that owns Death Row Records.
Hasbro gave us Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly, G.I. Joe, Transformers, My Little Pony, Power Rangers, and much, much more.
Death Row was established in 1991 by Dr. Dre, The D.O.C. and Suge Knight.
Heavy.com reports:
In an all-cash transaction, the worldwide toy and game company recently acquired Entertainment One for $4.1 billion, and by default, now owns the independent hip-hip music studio founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre, The D.O.C., and Marion “Suge” Knight, the latter of whom is in jail serving a 28-year prison sentence.
Twitter user @5Deuce4Tre7 responded to the news by noting: “ “Hasbro owns Death Row Records” is an Onion headline turned into real life. I heard of diversifying your portfolio but this is some next level shit.”
Hasbro chairman and CEO, Brian Goldner said of the deal, via Deadline:
“The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling, which will now include Hasbro’s IP. In addition, Hasbro will leverage eOne’s immersive entertainment capabilities to bring our portfolio of brands that have appeal to gamers, fans and families to all screens globally and realize full franchise economics across our blueprint strategy for shareholders. We are excited to welcome eOne’s talented employees from around the world into the Hasbro family.”
Back in 2013, eOne spent around $280 million to buy the catalog of Death Row, which declared bankruptcy in 2006. Since being acquired by Hasbro, the massive toy company now owns Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” Tupac’s “All Eyez Me”, Snoop Dogg’s “Doggystyle,” and many more iconic hip-hop records from West Coast rappers of the early 90s.
