WSJ: Playboy Enterprises Explores Sale

(RTTNews) - Playboy Enterprises Inc., the owner of Playboy magazine, is exploring a sale, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation.

The move comes after the publisher recently stopped publishing nude photos of women and launched a "top-to-bottom redesign" for the digital age.

According to the WSJ report, the sale could value the storied magazine publisher at more than $500 million. Investment bank Moelis & Co. is said to be advising Playboy on the sale. Moelis is expected to run an auction for Playboy.

Hugh Hefner, the company's founder, along with private equity firm Rizvi Traverse Management, took Playboy private in 2011 in a deal valued at $207 million. Hefner owns a nearly one-third stake in the company.

In a major breakaway from tradition, Playboy recently decided to stop publishing images of naked women as part of its redesign. The move was seen more as a decision prompted by the necessity to survive, rather than subscribing to ethical standards.

Playboy's management believes nudity has now become outdated, thanks to the internet. The magazine has seen its sales drop to 800,000 copies recently from its peak of 5.6 million in 1975.

In January, Playboy put its iconic, 5-acre Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles for sale. The WSJ reported that as Playboy shopped the mansion, bidders for the whole company emerged, prompting the company to explore an all-out sale.