Hugh Hefner, Editor in chief of Playboy Enterprises is seeking to regain ownership of the empire he founded and take the company private once again. A class-action suit seeking an order to rescind the proposed acquisition alleges that Hugh’s bid of $5.50 a share is too low and that the company would be breaching its shareholder fiduciary duties if the adult giant is sold for an equivalent $185 million. Hugh Hefner currently owns about 70 percent of Playboy’s Class A shares and 28 percent of its Class B stock.

This suit coincided Thursday with an announcement of a larger offer ($25 Million to be exact) from FriendFinder Networks Inc. to purchase Playboy for $210 Million. FriendFinder Networks, which owns Penthouse, AdultFriendFinder and dozens of other social-networking and cam sites, has said during a CNBC interview that Hefner’s bid “dramatically” undervalues Playboy. And what is FriendFinder Networks plan for Playboy

"We’re buying a brand that has a global reach and has a very small online presence, and we’re experts at building our online communities," Bell told CNBC. "So our goal is to take that Playboy community and really expand it globally online.” "We believe that together we can create a 21st century media powerhouse and generate tremendous synergies through the combination of Playboy’s iconic brands and licensing engine with the Penthouse brands and the demonstrated technological innovations of FriendFinder Networks."

"We would propose an arrangement where we would partner with Mr. Hefner in our efforts to drive shareholder value," Bell said in a statement to Playboy's board. "We envision that following the completion of the proposed transaction, Mr. Hefner would retain editorial control of Playboy Magazine and would be entitled to reside in the Playboy Mansion."

"We would expect continuity of senior management through completion of the transactions contemplated by this proposal, and we are open to participation by continuing members of senior management on a going forward basis."

Being a magazine company in an internet age, Playboy Enterprises has fallen upon hard times. The company lost $13.7 million in the first quarter of last year and has been following a plan to restructure and transition to a brand management company. So far the transition plans have been working as Playboy saw a net loss of $1 Million the first quarter of this year

 

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