Spin Master Corp (TOY.TO)

This was created 20 years ago by 3 extraordinary University boys. They have expanded the company and it has his own internal developers, and they work in close unison with companies like Disney (DIS-N). It is in an expansion mode globally now, which in a sense is cutting out middlemen.

Has a small position, largely because of his success through MegaBrands. There is a scarcity, not only in Canada, but also in North America of listed toy companies. Concerned about ownership concentration. Thinks 3 principles own about 97% of voting shares, which raises some corporate governance issues. It is early days for them, so it is worth paying attention to.

The trouble with toy companies is that at some point you have to evaluate the strength of their underlying products. He initiated a small position in this because it looked interesting and also because there is a scarcity of consumer stocks in Canada.

This company was set up by 3 university students, and the mom of one of them gave them a toy to develop or market. Out of that, 20 years ago, they have company which is now closing in on $1 billion in revenue. It has just gone public and has some very creative aspects. Like tech has all these developers they use, this company is in touch with creators of toys. Not expensive.