Entrepreneur Ken Hakuta is in negotiations with troubled toy retailer FAO Schwartz, which is desperately attempting to sell its 15 FAO Schwartz and 38 Right Start stores.  FAO, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see 'FAO Inc. Will File Chapter 11'), has hired DJM Asset Management to liquidate its 89 Zany Brainy stores, but hopes to find a buyer for its other stores.  Hakuta, a graduate of Harvard Business School who made over $20 million in the 1980s when he imported the rubbery plastic 'wall-walkers' from Japan, is probably best known for his Doctor Fad TV series, which aired on PBS.  Hakuta also produced what must be regarded as the ultimate entrepreneurial mantra, 'Lack of money is no obstacle.  Lack of an idea is an obstacle.'

One obstacle that could stand in the way of Hakuta's buyout of FAO is the fact that according to the Wall St. Journal, FAO does not own the rights to its own name.  The current FAO corporation licenses its name from a foundation controlled by the heirs of FAO's founder, and the foundation can block any transfer of the name if the new buyer can't meet 'first quality' standards.