Playboy, Hefner's son offers 100 million to relaunch the brand

A passion passed down through the generations. Hugh Hefner's youngest son Cooper has offered $100 million to buy the Playboy brand together with a group of investors. The Wall Street Journal reports. The group, which also includes a social media app and a lingerie brand, has a market value of just over $50 million. A business that also made history but lost ground under the blows of the internet in the 1990s and 2000s.

The company went public in 2021, but has since seen its shares plummet by more than 90 per cent and has 200 million in debt to date. 'It's a great American company and a great American brand, beyond my personal connection,' the 33-year-old Hefner said in an interview. Cooper Hefner has been Playboy's creative director for three years, until 2019, and aims to relaunch the brand with new media partnerships, such as documentaries. Hugh Hefner, founder of the famous erotic magazine, died in 2017 leaving three other children besides Cooper, who have sold their shares since the company stopped publishing the print magazine in 2020.