SANTA MONICA, Calif.-Friday, April 28th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ] (BUSINESS WIRE)-- JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) today announced that the Company closed the sale of 3,660,891 shares of the Company’s common stock to Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Company Ltd. (“Meisheng”) for a total purchase price of $19.3 million, and that Xiaoqiang Zhao, Executive Director of Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Company Ltd. and Chairman of the Board of its parent company Meisheng Cultural & Creative Corp., Ltd., joins JAKKS’ board of directors. Stephen Berman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We are pleased that Meisheng has increased their equity position in JAKKS and that Mr. Zhao has become a member of our board of directors. We are excited about the expanded opportunities in China that we anticipate will be available to us through our relationship with Meisheng.” Xiaoqiang Zhao stated: “We are delighted to add to our shareholdings in JAKKS. We expect this step will strengthen our two compani ... Read more »

KARIYA, Japan & TOKYO -Friday, April 28th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ] (BUSINESS WIRE)-- DENSO Corporation and Toshiba Corporation today announced that the two companies have begun talks to enhance collaborations in the fields of Internet of Things (IoT)-based manufacturing, advanced driver assistance, automated driving, and others. The collaborations aim to combine DENSO’s high level of technology and manufacturing capability accumulated through its experience in the automotive market and Toshiba’s image recognition, IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), and software development technologies, in order to increase the competitiveness to make it through the paradigm shift that is taking place in the automotive industry. In the fields of advanced driver assistance and automated driving, DENSO and Toshiba have jointly developed AI technologies used in image recognition systems. Moreover, the two companies have worked together in a wide range of areas including the development of automotive lithiu ... Read more »

LONDON-Friday, April 28th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ] (BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Special Olympics and MetLife Foundation, the philanthropic arm of global insurer MetLife, announced a $1.5 million, three year international partnership to expand Special Olympics Young Athletes across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (“EMEA”). Young Athletes is an inclusive sport and play program for children, ages 2 to 7 years old, with and without intellectual disabilities. The program develops participants’ basic sport skills, such as running, kicking and throwing. It also offers families, teachers, caregivers and people from the community the opportunity to share the joy of sports and being part of a team. “Special Olympics and MetLife Foundation have a shared commitment to building strong inclusive communities,” said Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis. “MetLife Foundation’s support of Young Athletes, together with its strong focus on employee engagement, encourages all children, their families and peop ... Read more »