Late 20th century to 1997 Charan Toys (Canadian company) The company's original forerunner, Canadian company Chantex, Inc., was founded in the late 19th century by the Zuckerman family. The business grew from $.16 million in sales to sales of $4.5 million in 1980. Its Charan Toy, Inc. subsidiary became a leading licensing toy company in 1985.
Toy Biz (American company) In 1988, Charan Toys was renamed Toy Biz and became an American firm. In 1990, Charan, including the Toy Biz subsidiary, was purchased by businessman Ike Perlmutter. In 1993, Toy Biz made a deal for "exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free licenses" of
Marvel Characters for 46 percent of Toy Biz equity.
Avi Arad, a toy designer and comic book fan, joined Toy Biz that same year.
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and
Xena: Warrior Princess action figures based on the
Action Pack television series shown on many
New World Television stations. Also, agreements with
Gerber and
NASCAR were acquired. and
Quest Aerospace Education, Inc., both toy companies. In the late 1990s, Marvel Entertainment Group filed for bankruptcy and became the subject of a battle for control in bankruptcy court. The company was salvaged in 1997 and merged with Toy Biz in 1998. Toy Biz were also notable for producing action figures for Peter Jackson's
Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy between 2001 and 2005. Having developed a good working relationship with
New Line Cinema following their
Blade toy line , Toy Biz managed to get the rights in spite of stiff competition from other companies. Toy Biz made several developments with this line - going for a slightly larger 6 inch scaled figure as opposed to the 3 31/4” scale popularised by toy lines such as Hasbro's
Star Wars figures and going for a mixture of screen accuracy and articulation/playability in order to appease both child and adult collectors. The company would later license products for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA),
Curious George and
Code Lyoko.
Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. In 2001, Marvel Enterprises licensed the rights to the 'Toy Biz' name to a Hong Kong–based toy manufacturer, Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. Toy Biz also outsourced much of the manufacturing to Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd.
Marvel Entertainment licensing agreement to Hasbro In January 2006, Marvel Entertainment signed a five-year licensing agreement with
Hasbro Inc. for $205 million, giving Hasbro the right to make toys and games based on Marvel Comic licenses. As a result of this, Marvel Entertainment prematurely terminated its agreements with Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd, by a year. As a result of the early termination, Marvel Entertainment paid Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. a penalty of between $13–16 million USD. == Legacy ==