JAKKS Pacific and Round 5 Sign Licensing Agreement to Share MMA Talent for New UFC Action Figure Lines

Posted on | August 6, 2009 | No Comments

Malibu, CA – August 6, 2009 – JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAKK), leading U.S. toymaker and master toy licensee for Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®), announced today a sub-licensing agreement with Mixed Marital Arts (MMA) collectibles company, Round 5 Corp., to share UFC and MMA talent. The agreement will allow both companies access to the biggest MMA fighters in order to manufacture, market and distribute action figures and related products under the UFC umbrella.

As a result, both companies now have access to a significantly larger MMA talent pool, including Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski, Matt Hughes, Jake Shields, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Brock Lesnar, BJ Penn and other top MMA fighters.

“This is truly a match made in heaven and we are excited to enter into this agreement with Round 5,” said Jeremy Padawer, SVP Boys Entertainment Marketing, JAKKS Pacific. “As the master toy licensee for the UFC, JAKKS can now offer MMA fans an entire world of action figures, accessories and other collectibles encompassing the most notable fighters in the fight world. The synergy between JAKKS® and Round 5® will ensure cohesive and comprehensive merchandise offering at retail that will benefit all parties involved, including JAKKS, Round 5 and the UFC, as well as the MMA fighters themselves, and most importantly, MMA fans.”

JAKKS’ new UFC line of toys and collectibles is expected to be available at retailers nationwide starting this Fall, with plans to roll out the newly acquired talent beginning as early as Spring 2010. Along with the full line of deluxe articulated action figures, JAKKS also expects to offer Octagon playsets, accessories and role play toys based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), PRIDE® Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC®).

“We want to provide fans with the most complete and authentic line of UFC products,” said UFC President Dana White. “This agreement with JAKKS Pacific and Round 5 brings the biggest players in the MMA action figure world together – now our fans will have access to the best and most diverse line of action figures.”

Damon Lau, President, Round 5, stated, “We are thrilled to partner with JAKKS and UFC, and we are confident that our teamwork will produce a more comprehensive product offering for MMA fans. In addition, JAKKS and R5 will facilitate marketing and distribution efficiencies at retail to increase exposure of our core product offerings. We are very excited to expand our line of 6” display collectible figurines and 10” display collectible statues with more of the biggest names in MMA.”

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
UFC is the largest live pay-per-view provider in the world and the fastest growing main stream sports organization in history. Owned and operated by Zuffa™, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa® , The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

About Round 5
Round 5 (www.Round5MMA.com), headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Canada, is the MMA industry’s fastest growing worldwide collectible figure company. Committed to developing intricately detailed figures, Round 5 strives to remain true to the sport of MMA and its personalities.

About JAKKS Pacific, Inc.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a leading designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a wide range of products that feature some of the most popular children’s toy licenses in the world. JAKKS’ diverse portfolio includes Action Figures, Art Activity Kits, Stationery, Writing Instruments, Performance Kites, Water Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School, Plush, Construction Toys, Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up, Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories, sold under various proprietary brands including JAKKS Pacific®, Child Guidance®, Color Workshop®, Creative Designs International™, Disguise™, EyeClops®, Flying Colors®, Funnoodle®, Girl Gourmet™, Go Fly a Kite®, JAKKS Pets™, Kids Only®, Pentech®, Play Along®, Plug It In & Play TV Games™, Road Champs® and Tollytots®. JAKKS is an award-winning licensee of several hundred nationally and internationally known trademarks including Cabbage Patch Kids, Disney, Graco®, Nickelodeon, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Warner Bros., World Wrestling Entertainment. JAKKS and THQ Inc. participate in a joint venture that has worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling Entertainment video games. For further information, visit www.jakks.com.
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about JAKKS Pacific’s business based partly on assumptions made by its management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to, those described above, changes in demand for JAKKS’ products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and difficulties with integrating acquired businesses. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation to updat e any of them to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. © JAKKS Pacific, Inc. All Right Reserved.