• Business Week, Tuesday, April 24, 2007 11 AM

Sales in Topps sports card division--which make up about half of the company's revenues--fell 15% annually between 2000 and 2005, as kids flocked to high-tech diversions, as well as gaming cards. Now former Walt Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner has partnered with private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners in a $385 million bid to take the ailing card and candy company private.

One possible way forward is interactive cards. Mattel introduced its HyperScan card games in 2006. They use CD-ROM and radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies to allow users to select a character from a card, such as The X-Men's Wolverine, and have him battle an opponent on a TV screen, just like a video game.

If Topps were to introduce a similar system for professional athletes, it could be a winner. Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 07 video game for Sony's PlayStation 2 was the best-selling game in the U.S. in 2006.

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