Ohio company sells classic Etch A Sketch to Toronto toy firm
By Associated Press
Feb 12, 2016 6:57 AM CST
FILE - In this June 26, 2008 file photo, an Etch-A-Sketch drawing made by artist Andy Kingston depicts a rural farm scene in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Ohio Art Co. sold the Etch A Sketch and the spinoff Doodle Sketch to Spin Master Corp. for an undisclosed price to a toy firm in Toronto. Ohio Art announced...   (Associated Press)

BRYAN, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio company that has produced or owned the Etch A Sketch for decades has sold the classic toy to a toy firm in Toronto.

Bryan-based Ohio Art Co. sold the Etch A Sketch and the spinoff Doodle Sketch to Spin Master Corp. for an undisclosed price. The Blade in Toledo (http://bit.ly/1RvGIyr ) reports Ohio Art announced the surprise move Thursday.

Its president, Martin Killgallon, says handing over the iconic toy is bittersweet but was done in consideration of the business's long-term future. The company plans to focus more on metal lithography, the craft on which it was founded over a century ago.

The Etch A Sketch was created by a French inventor. The brand was produced or owned by Ohio Art since 1960, when it bought the rights for $25,000.

___

Information from: The Blade, http://www.toledoblade.com/