New York, N.Y, October 2000—POOF Products, Inc., the maker of POOF foam toys and Slinky brand products, has acquired substantially all of the assets of Educational Design Toys, a unit of Educational Design LLC.
Educational Design, LLC was acquired by Haights Cross Communications, Inc., in December 1999 and Haights Cross chose to divest the Toys division because it did not fit with the main educational publishing focus of Educational Design. Educational Design is a major publisher of test preparation materials for state and national tests. Haights Cross is a $160 million-revenue educational and professional publisher. Educational Design was represented in the late October sale of the Educational Design line by the investment banking firm of Whitestone Communications, Inc., of New York.
Educational Design Toys (EDT) is an award-winning manufacturer of science and educational toys. Founded in 1969, EDT has become known for its popular Mini Lab Science Kits and more recently its Space Theater Planetarium. EDT sells primarily to the toy specialty and education industry. POOF and Slinky products are currently sold in the same channels of trade. POOF intends to expand distribution for EDT products in its current channels and to introduce science toys utilizing its POOF and Slinky products. The EDT line will be marketed under the "Slinky Science" brand.
