Playboy for sale after making a loss of millions - and Virgin is tipped as a potential buyer



He has become as much a part of the Playboy brand as its trademark bunny ears.

But Hugh Hefner could soon be parting ways with the soft-porn empire he founded more than 56 years ago.

The 83-year-old is reported to be selling the company for nearly £200million, with Virgin tipped as a potential buyer.

Although the magazine was read by a quarter of all university students in its heyday in the 1970s, its circulation has taken a battering from the availability of free pornography on the internet.

Playboy owner Hugh Hefner, pictured with two blonde models, is reportedly selling his empire due to the huge losses it has made this year



Earlier this month, Playboy announced it had made losses of £8.6million for the first three months of this year, compared to a £2.6million loss for the corresponding period in 2008.

The company is said to have been furiously cutting costs and has reportedly sacked 25 per cent of its staff.

The magazine has featured hundreds of models and actresses, like Jessica Alba, on its cover



Although it is still America's best-selling men's magazine, sales have dropped to about three million an issue from around seven million in 1972.

According to reports in the U.S., two companies, Apollo Capital Partners and Providence Equity Partners, have been approached but decided against making a bid.

Virgin Media's name has been raised as a potential buyer by speculators, but no official interest in the acquisition has been confirmed.

The purchase price is said to include enough to ensure that Hefner can maintain his lavish lifestyle. A source yesterday-told the New York Post: 'Everyone says that he'll never let go, that he'll take it to his grave.'

Hefner, who has become known for parading around in his dressing gown with a series of beautiful, blonde girlfriends, still controls 70 per cent of the company.

His daughter Christine stepped down as Playboy's chief operating officer in January and formally severed her ties with the company at its annual meeting last week.

A spokesman for Playboy said it had not received any offers and denied Hefner has been courting potential buyers.

But he added that, as a public company 'we will listen to proposals that could create value for all of our shareholders'.