Iconix Brand Management has ended talks to acquire Playboy Enterprises Inc.,
the
Chicago Tribune
reported
.
Playboy had been negotiating with two potential buyers for the past year, the report noted. Iconix, a company that owns and licenses brands, was seen as the lead bidder in a deal estimated at more than $300 million. Iconix had planned to sell Playboy’s video production and pay-TV assets, the article said.
The decision to sell publicly traded Playboy, which has struggled financially for several years, came down to aging founder Hugh Hefner, who controls 70% of the voting stock… [A] major sticking point was what role would be played by Hefner, who is not involved in day-to-day management but is Playboy’s public figurehead and serves as chief creative officer and editor in chief of its magazine.
There is a chance that negotiations with Iconix could resume, the
Tribune
reported. (Source:
Chicago Tribune,
Dec. 17, 2009.)
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