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Laird always felt a debt of gratitude for Playmates pretty much making him a millionaire. So when the time came for a re-up (mind you up until the end of the NM there was really no reason any other toy maker would have been considered because TMNT was crushing them all) he went with them.
You also have to realize, that despite everyone's complaints, Playmates has always done a good job. The figures may not have the most articulation and all that crap, but Playmates has always gotten shelf space and always done tons of items, etc. If anything, Mirage greatly held Playmates back in the 2K3 run when Laird had more sayso over things.
And most of it comes down to experience. When Playmates snagged the master license again right as Nick took over, it only made sense for them to get it. Mattel, Hasbro, they may have made a case for the TMNT, but Turtles is the single most important brand in Playmates history. So when they come in for a pitch, you know they flaunt their TMNT experience and success. Nobody else really stood a chance in that regard.
It would be a HUGE coup for another company to get the TMNT, but it's very unlikely it'll ever happen. And truth be told, if any other company did get it, it'd probably be something like Bandai off the back of their other kids licenses like Ben10. Hasbro or Mattel would almost never be a real contender, because it's unlikely either will ever be able to give the Turtles the attention that a company would want. And your other companies like NECA are practically garage operations compared to the big companies.
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