Playboy Magazine founder Hugh Hefner is reportedly in discussions with British billionaire Sir Richard Branson to purchase America’s oldest men’s magazine.
Playboy Enterprises, founded 56 years ago, is battling the recession and the rise in Internet pornography, with the firm recently posting losses of $13 million for the first quarter of 2009.
Sources suggest Hefner is thinking of retiring and courting Virgin Group boss Branson as a potential buyer, with a price-tag set at $300 million.
A Playboy spokesperson denies any offers have been made, but admits Hefner would “listen to proposals that could create value for all of our shareholders.”
This news comes on the heels of Hefner reportedly selling his Holmby Hills mansion in March for $28 million.
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