LOS ANGELES—Playboy today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with Manwin related to its TV and online businesses. The agreement provides that Manwin will be an operating partner for certain Playboy-branded online and entertainment businesses under the label Playboy Plus Entertainment.
Under the terms of the agreement, PEI will retain oversight of brand management. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"This partnership is another major step in the evolution of Playboy from an operator of a range of media and licensing businesses to a brand management company,” said Scott Flanders, chief executive officer of Playboy Enterprises. “We began this process with the successful outsourcing of our publishing functions and later partnering to grow consumer-products licensing opportunities in Asia and Europe. In Manwin, we have found another strong and experienced partner, and believe that this agreement will benefit our customers, distributors and advertisers."
Fabian Thylmann, managing partner of Manwin, said: "There is no doubt that Playboy Enterprises has created a brand that is the epitome of sexy, fun indulgence. Manwin will help this prestigious name capture both TV and the digital age in the spirit in which it was created. Manwin's scale and expertise will catapult the brand in a way that will benefit all our partners, as well as Playboy fans."
Alta Loma Entertainment, Playboy's mainstream production company that develops, produces and distributes original content to TV networks and film studios, is not part of the deal.
