Playboy Holds Talks With Two Suitors

CHICAGO (TheStreet) -- Playboy Enterprises (PLA Quote) is in play.

Iconix Brand Group (ICON Quote) and a group led by Jim Griffiths, Playboy's former entertainment president, are both in talks to acquire the company and take it private for more than $300 million, the Los Angeles Times reports, citing a person familiar with the situation.

Both companies have been talking to Playboy management for about a year, the person said.

Griffiths is working with San Francisco private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital on his bid, the Los Angeles Times reports. If successful, it would see him take over the company as CEO and run it for Golden Gate, which would become the new majority owner.

A spokesman for Playboy declined to comment for the newspaper, as did a spokeswoman for Iconix, which owns the Candie's and London Fog clothing brands.

Shares of Playboy rose by as much as 66% Thursday on a report from Bloomberg that the men's magazine publisher was in talks to sell itself to Iconix, and that Iconix had taken a look at Playboy's finances.

The stock closed at $4.07, up $1.21, or 42.3%.

Hugh Hefner, Playboy's founder, controls about 70% of the company's stock.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York .

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