- General
- October 2, 2020
- 4 minutes read
Playboy Eyes Reverse Listing
Photo credit: Katrina.Tuliao Playboy Enterprises, the fabled adult entertainment company, has joined a slew of firms that’ll participate in the…
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| Photo credit: Katrina.Tuliao |
Playboy Enterprises, the fabled adult entertainment company, has joined a slew of firms that’ll participate in the SPAC frenzy, with the company having just announced that it’s reached a deal to become a public company by merging with blank-check firm Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. The merger is expected to add more than $108 million to Playboy’s balance sheet, consisting of $58.5 million in funds already secured by Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp along with an additional $50 million to be raised from investors. The merger deal in total amounts to $381 million, consisting of $239 million in equity (Playboy’s initial valuation on the public markets) and $142 million in outstanding debt held by Playboy.
Playboy Enterprises is returning to the public markets once again after being taken private in 2011 in a deal spearheaded by the company’s famed but now late founder Hugh Hefner. Following Hefner’s death in 2017, his family ceded control of Playboy by selling Hefner’s remaining stake to Icon Acquisition Holdings, an entity that Hefner himself assembled in partnership with outside investors to take Playboy private six years before his death. Now, Playboy under a new leadership is aiming to hit the public market again.
Playboy Enterprises has a large business spanning sectors including sexual wellness products, clothing, beauty & grooming, and even gaming. The company, led by CEO Ben Kohn, says it’ll use the capital raised from its merger to expand its operations, with a goal of hitting $100 million of annual adjusted EBITDA by 2025. Kohn has led Playboy for three years and is seeing the company through an iconic time of hitting the public markets once again.
Upon completion of its intended merger, Playboy will become publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Under the terms of the merger, Playboy’s current shareholders have agreed to one year share sale lock up that’s, however, subject to a partial release after six months if Playboy hits a conditional trading milestone (if its shares trade at $14.00 or upwards for 20 out of 30 consecutive trading days). The company’s merger is expected to close in the second quarter of next year.
