Upper Deck Co. is looking to seize the upper hand from Michael Eisner.
The trading card company trumped the former Walt Disney Co. chief executive’s bid for venerable baseball card-maker Topps Co. with an unsolicited $416 million offer made public Thursday.
Eisner leads an investment group bidding $385 million. So far, he’s holding his cards close to the vest and isn’t commenting.
Upper Deck’s $10.75-a-share move muddies the waters for Topps’ board of directors, the majority of whom have endorsed the $9.75-a-share friendly takeover offer from Eisner’s investment company, Tornante Co., and the private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.
Upper Deck, maker of Yu-Gi-Oh and sports trading cards, initially expressed interest during a 40-day period when Topps was soliciting higher bids.
At the time, Topps regulatory filings identified Cheyenne, Nev.-based Upper Deck only as “the principal competitor” interested in acquiring its New York rival.
Industry observers say Upper Deck’s bid for Topps could be a serious attempt to corner the sports card market, or just crawl inside its rival’s books.
