Mattel (MAT) -), the toy company that is set to become over $125 million richer in revenue from its “Barbie” movie, is facing a lawsuit from UCLA for allegedly failing to donate $49 million to the university’s children's hospital after pledging to do so in a 2017 agreement.
The lawsuit, first reported by the LA Times, claims that Mattel pledged to donate the money, which would be used to help expand and improve pediatric care at UCLA's children's hospital, but did not fulfill the promise, citing financial issues.
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The toy company first created a partnership with UCLA in 1998 when Mattel gave the university over $25 million to rebuild its children’s hospital and rename it Mattel Children’s Hospital. It has since provided more than $80 million to the university and its health system.
In 2017, the toy company pledged to pay the hospital $49 million within a 12-year period in exchange for UCLA promising to incorporate Mattel’s logo into the hospital’s logo and signage. In 2018, Mattel stopped making payments to the university, with the last payment being $1 million, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claims that Mattel informed UCLA it had put a three-year pause on donations, after facing a decrease in revenue in 2017. In 2021, Mattel allegedly told UCLA that it planned to only pay $10 million more in its pledge with only $2.5 million being in the form of cash, $5 million of marketing and $2.5 million of toys.
The company’s “Barbie” movie, which premiered in July and cost around $145 million to make, made $1.4 billion in ticket sales globally, and is expected to exceed $125 million worth of revenue for Mattel this year.
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