in 1980, warner communications (now part of warnermedia) purchased the franklin mint for about $225 million. the combination was short lived: warner sold the franklin mint in 1985 to american protection industries inc. (api) for $167.5 million. however, warner retained eastern mountain sports, a retailer that the franklin mint had acquired in the 1970s, as well as the franklin mint center, which it leased back to api. api was renamed roll international in 1993. during the early 2000s, roll international wound down much of the franklin mint business. on august 31, 2006, roll international corp sold the remaining assets of the franklin mint to a group including private equity investors led by m. moshe malamud, david salzman and steven j. sisskind, who have extensive experience in the art, collectibles, media, entertainment and direct marketing industries. the franklin mint brand was purchased in november 2013 by sequential brands group.