Playboy agrees to Hefner buyout offer

NEW YORK - The publisher of Playboy magazine has agreed to accept a sweetened buyout offer from a partnership headed by founder Hugh Hefner, allowing the original playboy to fulfill his plans to take the company private.

Hefner is Playboy's largest shareholder with about 70 percent of Playboy Enterprises Inc.'s voting shares and 28 percent of the nonvoting stock. By leading a buyout for a larger portion, the 84-year-old known for his penchant for silk pajamas and young blond women is betting that the racy magazine he launched in 1953 can still reap profits in the digital age. It's been a challenge. The printed Playboy has struggled with rivals from the Web and has lost both readers and advertisers. In November, the company reported a wider third quarter loss than a year ago as its revenue fell 7 percent to $52.1 million.