NEW YORK -- Nov. 18, 2002 -- 4Kids Entertainment announced that it has reached agreement with Bandai America Incorporated to be the exclusive licensee for master toy rights, video games rights and trading card rights throughout the world outside of Asia for the Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy animated television series. 4Kids currently broadcasts two Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy half-hour episodes each Saturday morning on the Fox Network.
Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy is the story of Kid Muscle, the son of intergalactic wrestling champion King Muscle. Kid Muscle arrives on earth after the defeat of the Muscle League wrestling champions at the hands of the dMp, a new breed of super evil wrestling villains. With the help of his father's trusty trainer, Meat, Kid Muscle joins a whole new generation of heroes to save the planet from the dMp. Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy is a combination of action, adventure and humor.
"We are delighted to have reached agreement with Bandai, one of the world's leading toy companies, to launch toys, video games and trading card games based on the Ultimate Muscle property," said Alfred R. Kahn, Chairman of 4Kids. "We are looking forward to Bandai's scheduled release of Ultimate Muscle collectable 1.5" micro wrestlers, action figures and trading cards later this year and video games and other toys next year."
"We have had extensive experience with the Ultimate Muscle property in Japan having served as the master toy licensee for many years," said Bill Beebe, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Bandai. "We are very excited about the popularity of the series on Fox Box and are looking forward to working with 4Kids to develop exciting toy lines, video games and card games based on the Ultimate Muscle property."
About 4Kids Entertainment: Headquartered in New York City with international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. is a global provider of children's entertainment and merchandise licensing. 4Kids, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, provides domestic and international merchandise licensing and product development, television, film, music and home video production and distribution, media buying and planning and website development. For further information, please visit the company's Web site at www.4KidsEntertainment.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements. Due to the fact that the Company faces competition from toy companies, motion picture studios and other licensing companies, and the uncertainty of public response to the Company's properties, actual results or outcomes may differ materially from any such forward looking statements.
