Nintendo Pokémon Hideout--Burger King Recalls Pokéballs

Burger King Recalls Pokéballs

Credit: Yahoo!
NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Custom toy maker Equity Marketing Inc. (NasdaqNM:EMAK - news) saw its stock slip nearly 17 percent on Tuesday after a Pokemon ball it designed for Burger King was recalled after reportedly suffocating a baby in California. Shares of the Los Angeles-based company slipped 2-1/2 to 12-1/2 in early trading, off a year high of 19-7/16. Within an hour of trade, 65,8200 Equity Marketing shares traded hands compared with an average daily volume of 85,930. "The stock is probably down because of the announcement of Burger King's recall on products they gave away related to the Pokemon promotion," said Melissa Comer-Williams, analyst with Gerard Klauer Mattison. "Equity Marketing did that promotion with Burger King," she said. Late on Monday, fast food giant Burger King said it was recalling 25 million plastic Pokemon balls that enclosed toys given away with its children's meals. The recall was prompted by a report that half of one ball had covered the mouth and nose of a 13-month-old girl, suffocating her. Burger King, a Miami-based unit of multinational Diageo Plc. (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: DGE.L) (NYSE:DEO - news), said the incident was treated as an isolated case until a second complaint came through its consumer hotline that half of another ball was temporarily stuck on an 18-month-old's face. Equity Marketing designs and manufactures the Pokemon balls and toys as well as trading cards that are part of Burger King's children's meals. Officials at Equity Marketing were not immediately available to comment on the stock activity Tuesday morning Late Monday, Ria Carlson, vice president of corporate communications and investor relations for Equity Marketing, said the company had been cooperating with local authorities and the U.S. safety commission on the recall. Carlson said the Pokemon balls met or exceeded federal safety guidelines and had been tested by an independent laboratory. Gerard Klauer Mattison's Comer-Williams, along with other analysts speaking off the record, said she was unsure how the Burger King recall would affect Equity Marketing. Many analysts said they were looking to speak with company officials in California later Tuesday. According to Equity Marketing's Web site, the partnership with Burger King is Equity Marketing's oldest and largest client relationship. The toy designer and maker has provided products and services to Burger King restaurants for 13 years through promotions including Disney's The Lion King and Toy Story as well as a 1999 promotion based on Teletubbies. Diageo shares trading in New York were up 3/16 to 32-1/2.