Hugh Hefner Moves to Take Back Playboy Magazine, Go Private

Amidst continuous rumors that he’s seeing the empire he founded 50 years ago fall apart, Hugh Hefner has announced he’s taking Playboy magazine private again, making a concrete offer to shareholders for a buyout.

The Hef has repeatedly expressed his desire of leaving the Playboy empire into the hands of his two children – if the buyout is successful, he’ll be able to put his plan into motion more easily.

Getting back the bunny won’t come cheap, though, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Hefner, 84, reached a deal to acquire the shares of Playboy Enterprises Inc. that he doesn’t already own for $6.15 each — an 18% premium over Friday’s closing price. That brings the value of the company to about $207 million,” the LA Times says.

Making Playboy private again will also allow Hefner to restructure and rebrand it in such a way as to make it one of the strongest players on the market again, a position it slipped from in recent years.

“The brand resonates today as clearly as at any time in its 57-year history,” The Hef says in the announcement confirming his move to buy out the other shareholders.

“I believe this agreement will give us the resources and flexibility to return Playboy to its unique position and to further expand our business around the world,” the mogul adds.

In other great Hugh Hefner-related news, he’s also getting married soon. Shortly after Christmas break, Hefner announced on his Twitter he and his current number one girlfriend Crystal Harris were engaged.

The news came as a shock both to Hefner’s fans and his former girlfriends, his determination never to marry again being well known, as also was his love of the carefree, commitment-free lifestyle at the Mansion.

“After the movie tonight, Crystal & I exchanged gifts. I gave Crystal a ring. A truly memorable Christmas Eve,” Hugh first tweeted, as we also reported at the time.

“Yes, the ring I gave Crystal is an engagement ring. I didn’t mean to make a mystery out of it. A very merry Christmas to all,” he added later, so as to avoid any confusion about the true meaning of the ring.