*Extra* At Mattel, the Other Shoe Finally Drops

When I last mentioned Mattel (MAT Quote) back in November, the story went something like this:

About a month ago Mattel disclosed earnings trouble related to its The Learning Company subsidiary. A few weeks later it said everything was OK. Then, on Wednesday, it announced that the two guys who ran TLC, Michael Perik and Kevin O'Leary, had 'left.' Left! Nothing more, nothing less. What really happened? A company spokesman was mum, but this much is certain: It's generally never a good sign when top execs abruptly leave after bad news with no explanation. Suggests some skeletons popped out of some closet.

Or maybe a bunch of unsold software that nobody ever knew existed? ...