Activist investor Barington Capital is pushing Mattel to consider selling off its American Girl and Fisher-Price brands, citing underperformance within the divisions. Mattel shares were up around 3% in premarket trading Friday following a letter sent to Mattel Thursday, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. American Girl and Fisher-Price, two iconic brands, are among the most popular in their respective markets. Mitarotonda said that if Mattel cannot stymie continued erosion in both Fisher-Price and American Girl, which has suffered similar declines, the company "may not be the right owner of these brands." "We believe that these brands are now detracting from the success at Mattel's other segments and hurting shareholder value," Mitarotonda said in a release.

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Persons: Barbie, Barington, Price, Fisher, Barington's James Mitarotonda, Ynon Kreiz, Mitarotonda, Mattel, Kreiz, Michael Dolan, Dolan Organizations: Mattel Inc, Mattel, American, Price, Wall Street, Fisher, Bacardi, IMG, Young, Body Works, Darden Locations: El Segundo , California