Playboy wants to go back to the NASDAQ stock exchange

He has debts, no longer publishes the iconic paper magazine, but still worth a lot. Playboy Enterprises plans to offer again stock on the American stock exchange. All thanks to talks with investors who believe that the legendary brand can still come back to the top.

There is no need to convince anyone about the fact that indebted companies are listed on the stock exchange (not only the Polish Stock Exchange), or companies that have not produced anything for years. However, this is not the case. Playboy Enterprises is a brand known all over the world - the name itself is worth a fortune, although the fact is that the company is indebted. The problems started with the increasing access to the Internet, which meant that everyone - and usually practically for free - has access to erotic photos and videos in an amount impossible to see in a single lifetime. Inevitably, commercial magazines began to lose value, including the industry leader - Playboy, who even began to bring losses. However, not big enough to make it impossible to overcome the impasse.

The light in the tunnel was the start of talks with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corporation. It seems that they are almost finished and merging the companies is only a matter of time. Experts quickly calculated that thanks to this, Playboy's value after deduction of debt will amount to about USD 425 million.

Return to the stock exchange - this time NASDAQ

Although this year Playboy magazine has not been published on paper for the first time in 67 years, 2020 may turn out to be a breakthrough for the company. Since 2011, the company's shares could no longer be purchased in normal trading, but only in private offers. After the merger with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corporation, which is listed on the market NASDAQ, it will be easier to become the owner of a small stake of shares again.

In 2011, Playboy shares were transferred to the private market for USD 207 million. At that time, the company was still ruled by the legendary, and today the late Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy. It has not been easy to buy shares since then, but that may change later this month. Mountain Crest reports that investors are willing to guarantee $ 100 million in private investment in public stocks. However, official information is like a medicine, because the negotiations are still ongoing. Mountain Crest Suying CEO Liu declined to comment on the case, and Rizvi Traverse Management representatives from Playboy management also choked on their lips.

$ 50 million is here

You can find some details in Mountain Crest's financial documents. They show, among other things, that the company has already obtained USD 50 million this year for the purchase of a private joint-stock company. This is not a novelty, because many companies enter the stock market in this way, ignoring the public issue of shares. Of course, the documents do not contain any records for which company the money is to be allocated, but the facts make up one coherent whole.

If the negotiations are successful, it could be a godsend for Playboy, which for the first time in 67 years did not come out on paper - since the phenomenal Marylin Monroe appeared on the first cover in 1953.

Currently, the magazine wants to change the industry and focus on lifestyle content on the Internet. The second branch of the business is to be the erotic industry, but the exact direction in which the company's development will follow has not yet been specified.