New York, January 25, 2013 -- Moody's Investors Service said today that the Federal appeals court ruling handed down on January 24th reducing the amount that Mattel may have to pay in the ongoing dispute related to MGA's Bratz dolls is a positive for Mattel. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reduced the award from $310 million to $137.8 million by reversing the verdict and damages, throwing out the approximately $172 million portion of the award related to alleged theft of trade secrets at toy fairs between 2001 and 2005. While MGA could theoretically bring a new lawsuit based on the same toy fair claims, Mattel stated in a press release that it is confident than such a lawsuit would be barred by the statute of limitations. At the same time, the court upheld the $137.8 million award to MGA for expenses associated with the original antitrust lawsuit filed by Mattel. Mattel will take a charge to reserve for this amount in its 4th quarter 2012 financials which have not yet been reported. A cash payment is likely to be made in the first half of 2013. Mattel has ample liquidity to make the payment as we expect the company to end the year with around $1 billion of cash as well as full availability under its $1.4 billion bank facility. "Importantly," said Linda Montag, Moody's Senior Vice President, "this court decision signals that the long running dispute over the Bratz dolls is close to a final end, saving Mattel ongoing legal expenses which have run the company in the tens of millions of dollars in some years."

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