LOS ANGELES, March 25 (UPI) — The sale of the fabled Playboy Mansion has expanded to possibly include the entire company, CEO Scott Flanders said.
The potential sale of the company, Playboy Enterprises Inc., privately owned since 2011, arose from interest in the sale of the mansion, home of Playboy founder and one-third owner Hugh Hefner. The home is listed for $200 million.
It is estimated a sale of the entire company, which would include the iconic magazine, its licensing deals, various entertainment extensions and the mansion on its five-acre property, could reach $500 million.
The recently revamped magazine eliminated its trademark nudity in search of a younger audience, and has a circulation of about 800,000, down from more than 5 million at its maximum in the 1970s. The overhaul of the magazine, regarded as a trailblazer in social mores since the its first issue in 1953, came as its approach to the hedonistic lifestyle, including Playboy bunnies and the playmate of the month, was seen as increasingly unfashionable and scorned by a younger audience.
Flanders said new advertisers approve of the change in the magazine’s focus, adding there has been interest in purchasing the entire company.
The mansion was listed for sale in January, and comes with its current resident, Hefner. The listing includes a demand that Hefner, 89, be allowed to live there for the rest of his life.
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