Playboy agrees to buy sexual wellness chain Lovers

ConnectM Technology Solutions

01/02/2021 13:00

By Joshua Franklin
    Feb 1 (Reuters) - Playboy Enterprises Inc, the lifestyle
brand that is in the process of going public and known for its
eponymous magazine, said on Monday it has agreed to acquire the
parent company of sexual wellness chain Lovers. 
    The acquisition is the latest step by Playboy to shift away
from its legacy media business following the shuttering of its
magazine last year, and towards leveraging its famous rabbit
silhouette logo to help build a consumer products brand.  
    The deal values Lovers-parent company TLA Acquisition Corp
at around $25 million. Playboy said it expects Lover to add
roughly $45 million in revenue over the next twelve months. 
    "The area that we think is the greatest financial
opportunity right now is in the sexual wellness space. It's a
highly fragmented industry," Playboy Chief Executive Ben Kohn
said in an interview. 
    "We believe that with the Playboy brand, we bring a unique
competitive advantage to the table to become a leader in this
category," Kohn added. 
    Lovers operates online as well as across 41 stores in five
U.S. states, selling sexual wellness and health goods including
lingerie and intimacy products. Upon closing of the deal, Lovers
will sell Playboy's sexual wellness products.
    Reuters had reported that Playboy was nearing a deal for
Lovers on Sunday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2K46WI    
    In October, Playboy agreed to go public by merging with
blank-check acquisition company Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp
 MCAC.O  in a deal that values Playboy at $413 million,
including debt.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2GS28A
    Once the merger with Mountain Crest is completed, which is
expected in February, Playboy will become a publicly traded
company again, having been taken private in 2011 in a $207
million deal led by its late founder, Hugh Hefner, and private
equity firm Rizvi Traverse Management.    
    Playboy has said it plans to use the proceeds from the deal
Mountain Crest to expand into the sexual wellness space and to
acquire consumer brands and platforms.
    In addition to sexual wellness, Playboy is also open to
acquisitions of businesses focused on streetwear apparel and
men's grooming, Kohn said. 
    Playboy last year ceased publication of its magazine, ending
a nearly seven-decade run on newsstands that began in 1953 with
a debut issue featuring Marilyn Monroe.    
    
    

 (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in Miami; editing by Diane Craft)
 ((joshua.franklin@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6356; Reuters
Messaging: joshua.franklin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))