Hugh Hefner, founder and majority shareholder of Playboy Enterprises, is being sued by an investor who said Hefner rejected acquisition suitors during the past six months so he could maintain his lifestyle.
David Brown filed suit Monday in state court in Los Angeles. He seeks class-action, or group, status for the suit on behalf of other investors. Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises owns the namesake men's magazine.
Iconix Brand Group, based in New York, in December decided to break off purchase discussions with the company after determining it would be too complicated to divest, shut down or find partners for Playboy units it didn't want to operate, according to two people familiar with the matter. Hefner also rejected an offer from San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital, Brown said.
"According to published reports, one of the main reasons why these deals failed was Hefner's insistence on maintaining the lifestyle to which he has grown accustomed," Brown wrote.
Martha Lindeman, a spokeswoman for Playboy, said Hefner hadn't yet been served with the complaint and she couldn't immediately comment.
