Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. is pleased to announce the sale of its Darda line of high quality toys to Simm Marketing GMBH, a long time licensee of the Darda brand in Europe. Best known for its child-powered racing sets and accessories, Darda became a Walthers brand in 2005.

Simm Marketing GMBH traces its start to 1926 when founder Richard Simm began making costume jewelry. Production of toys began in 1965 and continues to the present day. The firm also distributes other high-quality toy lines in Germany and surrounding countries, and has been offering Darda products in Europe since 1999.

"This sale presents an outstanding opportunity for both companies," said J. Philip Walthers, President. "Darda helped us reach new markets outside the traditional hobby channels, where we're well known as the leading supplier of model railroad products. The sale clears the way for us to apply what we've learned from Darda to focus on and grow our core products and services. Darda's popularity with parents and specialty retailers makes it a perfect fit with Simm Marketing's current product mix. And their ability to reach a wide range of customers promises to make Darda even more successful in the future. Darda is a great brand and we have no doubt it will do well under Simm's management."

While the details of the arrangements, in particular the U.S. distribution of Darda products, were still being finalized at press time, "Customers should see a seamless transition," Walthers said.

Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. is the leading supplier of model railroad products in the world. Founded in Milwaukee in 1932 by William K. Walthers, and now in its third generation of family ownership, the firm has offices in Milwaukee and Baltimore and supplies 3,000 hobby shops at home and abroad with 100,000+ products from over 300 different suppliers.