Rubik's Cube-owner Spin Master to buy Melissa & Doug for $950 million

(Reuters) -Canadian toys and games-maker Spin Master said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy U.S.-based toy-maker Melissa & Doug for $950 million in cash, taking the shares of the Rubik's Cube owner up nearly 8% in early trade.

The move comes days after Spin Master signed a deal with the retailing and licensing division of Paramount Global for a new animated series in the well-known Dora the Explorer franchise.

Spin Master said it expects the Melissa deal, which includes $500 million in debt financing, to be immediately accretive to its earnings per share.

Melissa & Doug makes toys for children in the preschool ages, and is known for its wooden jigsaw puzzles.

Spin Master, which also owns the popular children's cartoon adventure series PAW Patrol, has a market capitalization of C$3.50 billion ($2.57 billion) as of stock's last close.

($1 = 1.3599 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)