from reuters.com:
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Playboy founder Hugh Hefner changed American pop culture, one centerfold at a time.
With his Playboy Enterprises Inc in talks to be sold for about $300 million, the 83 year-old Hefner will be giving up control over the iconic adult entertainment empire he founded that was instrumental in shaping society's opinions on nudity, sex and free speech.
Playboy magazine also showed men how to enjoy stylish clothing, good liquor, sports cars and other luxuries, and became a standard bearer for that lifestyle -- real or imagined.
"All that kind of stuff just piled up issue after issue -- promoting that idea of consumer abundance as being synonymous with the good life in this country -- and Hefner is very important in promoting that idea," said Steven Watts, author of "Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream."
But as Playboy's fortunes waned, some of the symbols of wealth that surrounded Hefner became harder for him to hang on to.
Playboy Enterprises Inc is in talks with Jim Griffiths, a former entertainment president at Playboy, and private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, to sell itself for about $300 million, a source familiar with the matter said Friday.
Playboy declined to comment. Golden Gate Capital, which is in joint talks with Griffiths, were not immediately available for comment.
The company is also in separate talks with Iconix Brand Group to sell itself, sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The company has been looking for a buyer for months, even before the appointment of a new chief executive in June, when Scott Flanders replaced Christie Hefner, the daughter of the magazine's founder Hugh Hefner.
Al Bundy is distraught:
No comments:
Post a Comment