Virgin Doesn't Want Playboy After All

A company spokesperson from Virgin Group stated Thursday that it does not want to buy Playboy Enterprises, Inc.

"Reports that Virgin Group is looking to buy Playboy Enterprises . . . are untrue," said an e-mailed statement made by Virgin.

The statement, according to Reuters, was made in response to a report by UK newspaper Daily Mail on Sunday that Virgin's Sir Richard Branson was "tipped as a potential buyer."

A Playboy representative contacted by Reuters Thursday declined to comment on the Virgin statement. On Tuesday, a spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune that the company would not comment on Branson as a potential buyer.

Playboy, which includes the well-known adult magazine, has an asking price of $300 million. Its current market capitalism is approximately $100 million, reported the Tribune.

According to the New York Post, the company has shopped itself to Providence Equity Partners, Apollo Capital Partners, among other private equity firms, from which no offers resulted.