Games specialist Jumbo sold to Dutch firm M and R De Monchy.

M&R De Monchy is a Rotterdam-based company which has been active in the toy sector for almost forty years. It also owns Spanish firm Diset and has a strategic partnership with the French Nathan Jeux.

The aim is to build a European games and puzzles corporation with greater strength in the European licence market.

As a result of the deal Jumbo is now in a ber position to market its games in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, as it does in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and England.

Jo Birkin MD of Jumbo UK said: “The UK business re-branded to Jumbo in January this year after over ten years of Jumbo ownership and two years of success in the games sector. The Jumbo brand will continue to be a major focus for the business and we look forward to the development of an increased games and puzzles portfolio from our sister companies in 2008 and beyond."

“Jumbo can look forward to enormous international growth. Stratego will soon be as popular among Spanish and French players as it is in the home market,” according to Ronald Pieters, managing director of Jumbo.

The Jumbo brand will be retained and there will be little change to the running of the company. Dirk van Wassenaer, managing director of De Monchy said: “We are extremely happy that we can add such a b brand as Jumbo to our European games corporation."

Jumbo’s Dutch management will stay on for the time being in order to preserve continuity.

Jumbo has now added a number of games and puzzles to its portfolio, such as the ever popular Party & Co and a line of educational electronic toys from Diset. In turn, Jumbo can share its cross-media experience gained from Stratego Mobile, for example. Production at the Jumbo factory will be expanded to include games from Diset and Nathan Jeux.

Van Wassenaer added: “Diset and Jumbo each have a turnover of more than thirty million euros now; in three years’ time that must be a hundred million euros together. We are really proud that the investment in a European games and puzzles corporation is coming from the Netherlands.”