Playboy,
America’s best selling men’s
magazine that was founded nearly five
decades ago will be sold to the Virgin
firm owner Richard Branson, according
to media reports. Though, there is
no official confirmation in this regard
from Playboy or Virgin.
The owner of Playboy, Hugh Hefner
(83) is said to have clinched a deal
for USD 300 million. This extreme
step was taken after the magazine
experienced a dip in its profits following
free pornography on the Internet.
The market valuation of the firm is
only around USD 100 million. Two companies
Apollo Capital Partners and Providence
Equity Partners was also contacted
but they seemed to remain non committal
on the issue.
The recession has taken its toll on
Playboy too, with the company having
unwaged 25 percent of their employees
in New York and Los Angeles.
Though reports of acquisition were
denied by Playboy’s spokesperson,
he did not rule out the possibility
to obtain proposals.
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