Playboy Enterprises Said to Explore Sale

NY Times ^ | March 24, 2016 | Ravi Somaiya

[Zakeet]

Playboy Enterprises, the parent company of the iconic men’s magazine, has retained investment bankers and has begun exploring a sale, people with knowledge of the discussions said on Thursday.

[Snip]

Playboy ... would be valued at around $500 million.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

The magazine is a money loser, but the brand has value in licensing. I believe the cable channel does okay for them, too.

[twister881]

I read Playboy for the Granny cartoons: “Please, ma’am, you’re scaring the horses!”

[pepsionice]

Playboy, at least through the 1980s....had three distinctive differences than the rest.

It always had one four-star interview with someone every month...that was worth reading. It also had advice columns on stereo and technology gimmicks (weak but no one else was doing it). And they had some general pieces on fashion trends for guys (it didn’t always occur monthly).

If I were going to buy it....I’d aim strictly at men in their 30’s who had some money, some wildness left in them, and were the type to wear $300 Italian shoes. I’d hire two or three essay writers to go off to unusual places and write Hunter S. Thompson-like pieces. I’d hire some young ladies to write columns on how to remake a guy’s image. And I’d hire a team to write a three-page car advice column monthly. Finally, I’d probably make the first year or two in paper, and do a switch by the third year to strictly digital.

[Hugin]

Back in the 60s they also had a couple other things. First they had some great cartoonists (Gahan Wilson was my favorite). And they had some great exclusive fiction from top writers of the day, both short stories and serialized novels. I think Ian Fleming’s Man With the Golden Gun was first published there.

[Morgana]

Hefner must be ready to cash in his chips, otherwise I don’t think he’s sell his “baby”.

[driftless2]

I thought people bought it for the incisive commentary.

Not me...I bought it for the tips on home furnishings. Oh, alright...I confess....I did also read the incisive commentary. But that's all. (snicker)

[DoodleDawg]

Sounds like a perfect Trump investment opportunity since he sold off his beauty pageants.

[Drew68]

I don’t really follow the pornography business. But thought that Playboy had been bypassed by all the more explicit porn available nowadays. Does Playboy really have a big value as a business as a going concern?

As of last month, Playboy no longer features nude photography. This change allows it to be sold in grocery stores and purchased by minors.

Instagram model Sarah McDaniels (yes, those are her real eyes) is featured on the first cover.

It waits to be seen if this change will give Playboy a reprieve. Personally, I think it might help. Guys who wanted to look at porn weren't really buying Playboy in the first place.

Does Playboy have value? Their bunny logo is one of the most recognized logos ever. That alone has incredible value.

[MasterGunner01]

Playboy Enterprises and the magazine have been dying for years. The death of the London Playboy Club (caught skimming the take) started the ball rolling down hill and it's continued ever since. Hef’s sold his Big Bunny jet, he's down to his California mansion, and magazine subscriptions are in a death spiral. The soft porn empire that Hef created is on its last gasp and sale is warranted. Whatever the sale price, Hugh Hefner will not be destitute by any means.

[P.O.E.]

WANTED - The Original Playboy Pink Mustang

Help us find the Pink Mustang given to the 1964 Playmate of the Year. The title picture for this article was first published in the February, 1965 issue of Playboy magazine. It features Donna Michelle, the 1964 Playboy Playmate of the Year along with the elusive 1965 (or 1964 1/2) Mustang she was awarded, as well as several other prizes.

[jmacusa]

Hey Laz, here's the opportunity of a lifetime!

[max americana]

“Please tell me you didn’t swim in “The Grotto”.

NO. Everyone I saw in the grotto looked either skanky’ or pervy.

[doorgunner69]

Back in the 60s they also had a couple other things.

Their most egregious offense back then was all the music/record reviewers were jazz types. They would "try" to review rock albums and fail miserably. Talk about not having a clue what they were listening to. The review of the Who's "Tommy" should be reprinted, it was so bad.

The execrable "What sort of man reads playboy" ads were a howler as well. There were some great cartoons as noted. Vietnam would not have been the same without the centerfolds tacked up everywhere.

[hattend]

The one I remember is Barbie Benton.

[boop]

Such a magazine already exists.

It's called Maxim.

Non-nude pics of hot women, and some great writing/ articles.

I used to subscribe when I was in my 30s, but I kind of outgrew it.

Sad to say but Playboy's era has come and gone.

And YES, I enjoyed reading it, too.

The nudes weren't that exciting anymore.

They all looked alike to me.

Bleach blonde, plastic faces, and fake breasts.

That's Hef's "ideal", but it is boring to me.