Hi all,
Here’s a bit of news for you: Round 2 has been purchased by an investment firm in New York. I’ve provided a link to the announcement. If we hear anything more, we’ll let you know.
Thanks,
TK
Well Tim, you’re really posting a lot lately. Nice to see you back more often.
I can’t see how this is a good thing.
Hi Steve,
I’m around, just shooting a lot of video and editing stories. Gotta keep the flow of content going. When I have the chance, I’ll swing by and say hi.
Hi!
TK
Of course, this is a developing story, so rather than speculate on what it means, we’ll report back as soon as we know more.
As always, a wiser course.
Thanks Tim! We appreciate your efforts.
Jim [cptn]
Stay Safe.
Hopefully not the same investment firm that had GameStop… [;)]
Ya, often these moves are the beginning of the end. But now and then that is not the case in some industries. In modeling, investment firms need to be modelers too or they have no heart in it. So, well, we shall see.
DITTO ! ! Bill;
I think it is fair that people are wary of this news. Maybe it will be a good thing. But, too often ‘investment group’ actually means a wake of vultures who will milk every penny they can out of something they buy, without a care for the businesses’ future. Then they disappear into the night, leaving things in shambles.
Round 2 appears to be mostly automotive kits/ licenses. This acquisition was not for Star Wars or Gundum stuff so hopefully they will continue with re-popping classic kits/ subjects or maybe even doing some new tooling for neglected subjects that there’s a market for? I’ll try to remain hopeful that this is good news…
One more thing for people to panic about.
Hi everyone,
We recieved a press release from Round 2 today. It confirms what we new from the earlier report, that Praesidian Capital from Larchmont, New York, acquired controlling interest (51%) in Round 2.
Tom Lowe, Round 2 president and founder, says in the press release that Praesidian “brings significant resources” to help scale the business “organically and through acquisitions.” Currently, no staff changes are in the works and Round 2 will remain in Southbend, Indiana.
"Our customers can be assured that it is business as usual at Round 2, with lots of continued growth to come,” Lowe says in the press release.
Jason Drattell, Praesidian Founder, says the investment firm recognized Round 2 as a “market leader in the collectibles space” and will support the management team as the company "continues to expand its product offerings.”
Glenn Harrison, a Praesidian Capital partner says they see a “significant consolidation opportunity within the highly fragmented collectibles space.”
While modelers may not be used to hearing the scale model hobby spoken of in stark terms as “collectibles space,” the scale modeling hobby does occupy an interesting spot that spans collectibles, toys, and games, and encompasses many genres, from military vehicles and harware to science-fiction and fantasy, to civilian cars and trucks, and much in between. We have reached out to Round 2 for comment and will report back when we have more.
Thanks,
TK
Star Wars and Gundam models are currently made by Bandai, a completely different company.
Star Trek on the other hand was done by AMT, one of the lines that Round 2 covered. MPC did the Star Wars original trilogy models, and AMT did the prequel trilogy kits, but those molds are now likely tied up in licensing issues.
If they start selling belt buckles, hawaiian shirts, and repro military badges, I will be concerned. Hopefully they can acquire and develop some new and exciting licenses rather than just gobbling up smaller competitors and popping their stuff out as new product.
Actually, Round 2 will start producing Star Wars kits this year. Bandai seems to have let the license lapse–though we’re trying to find out if that’s just for the U.S. or for all markets. We’re working on the Round 2 story and hope to have it posted in the next couple of hours. But according to our sources, Round 2 will do a mixture of both repopping old Star Wars kits and producing entirely new ones.
TK
This would be awesome! The bandai kits are nice, but they are really just nice snap-together kits. I would love for there to be new Star Wars kits that are glue together, white molded plastic that you can paint from scratch, etc. Much the same as the old AMT kits, but newer and possibly for the new Stars Wars films as well.
Nothing that I’ve seen by Round 2 has the fit or detail of the Bandai Star Wars kits. That will be a true shame to lose the Bandai line beyond what’s already out there. Snap together or not, they are very impressive in quality.