Hasbro Began Discussing Move to MA With Top Officials Six Months Ago, According to Documents

Hasbro Began Discussing Move to MA With Top Officials Six Months Ago, According to Documents

Pawtucket-headquartered Hasbro began discussions with top Massachusetts officials six months ago about possible incentives to move across the border, according to a new report. 

Hasbro’s CEO Chris Cocks Cocks and Massachusetts Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Haomet had dinner in April, before additional members of the company talked with state officials in more detail over the summer, including about a state tax-break program.  

The documents showing the timeframe were in emails obtained through a public records request and reported by Boston Business Journal (BBJ). 

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As GoLocal reported in September, the news was out that Hasbro has been eyeing a move to Boston — but public records request shows the discussions go back even further. 

The potential of Hasbro potentially leaving, coupled with the recent report that CVS may potentially be broken up into multiple companies, could be devastating to Rhode Island’s economy, employment, and identity.

 

Records Show Meetings, Communications Between Hasbro and MA

BBJ reported that the day after the dinner in April, Hao emailed Cocks to say that she and her team “would LOVE to chat with you about your potential HQ move,” noting that Lego had recently decided to move to Boston and that the state was home to other consumer brands such as Wayfair and Whoop.

Cocks replied that “it would be great to figure out a permanent home for us in Boston and to build a creative center for the toys and games industry in the city.”

Then things progressed.  According to BBJ: 

That same day, Hasbro Chief Legal Officer Tarrant Sibley followed up with Hao, saying that he and a “large number of our employees” live in Massachusetts. Sibley's LinkedIn profile lists Westwood as his home base. (In later emails, he and Hao would swap hosannas about the Celtics' June championship.) Of the top executives on Hasbro's website, one other, Chief Communications Officer Bertie Thomson, lists Greater Boston on her LinkedIn.

Hao then wrote to Sibley and Cocks that she had spoken to Gov. Maura Healey, who said she was a “BIG fan of Hasbro’s” and happy to meet with the company’s leaders.

The report goes on to state that further discussions took place over the summer between company and Commonwealth officials. 

An Executive Office of Economic Development spokesperson told the Business Journal that the state has not made a specific tax-incentive offer to Hasbro.