Playboy nears $425 mln deal to return to the stock market -sources

ConnectM Technology Solutions

23/09/2020 18:54

By Joshua Franklin
    Sept 23 (Reuters) - Playboy Enterprises is nearing a deal to
go public through a merger with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp
 MCAC.O , which would value the owner of Playboy magazine at
around $425 million, including debt, people familiar with the
matter said. 
    A tie-up with Mountain Crest would result in Playboy's
return to the stock market, nine years after it went private in
a $207 million deal led by its late founder Hugh Hefner and
private equity firm Rizvi Traverse Management.
    Mountain Crest, a special purpose acquisition company
(SPAC), could announce a deal with Playboy by the end of this
month, the sources said on Wednesday, cautioning that talks
could still collapse. 
    Mountain Crest is in discussions with investors who would
contribute around $100 million to the deal in the form of a
private investment in public equity, or PIPE, transaction, the
sources said. 
    The sources requested anonymity as the discussions are
private. A Playboy representative declined to comment. Mountain
Crest Chief Executive Suying Liu had no comment when contacted
by phone. Executives at Rizvi Traverse did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. 
    Reuters reported last week that Playboy was exploring going
public through a SPAC merger. The New York Post reported the
exclusive talks with Mountain Crest on Tuesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2GF1AD
    Mountain Crest raised $50 million in an initial public
offering earlier this year with the goal of buying a private
company, which would then become public as a result of the deal.
SPACs have emerged in 2020 as an increasingly popular route to
public markets over a traditional IPO.
    Playboy earlier this year stopped printing its flagship
magazine, ending a nearly seven-decade run on newsstands that
began in 1953 with a debut issue featuring Marilyn Monroe.    
    The company has expanded beyond its media business to
refashion itself as a lifestyle brand and is eyeing expansion
into sexual wellness.

 (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Tom
Brown)
 ((joshua.franklin@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-6356; Reuters
Messaging: joshua.franklin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))