PLBY Group, Inc. and Charactopia Licensing Limited Announce Playboy China Joint Venture
January 17, 2023 at 06:30 pm IST
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PLBY Group, Inc. and Charactopia Licensing Limited (Charactopia) have entered into a shareholders agreement to form Playboy China, a joint venture that will jointly own and operate the Playboy branded consumer productsbusiness in parts of the Chinamarket, including mainland China. The Playboy China joint venture will focus on reinvigorating all aspects of the China-marketPlayboy apparel business, including online and offline retail strategies, product design and assortment, and brand marketing to its multi-generational audience. The Shanghai-based joint venture team will look to build on Playboy's current roster of licensees and online storefronts by adding newpartners and growing through newproduct categories yet to be developed in China with the Playboy brand.
The joint venture will be governed by a Board of Directors that includes representatives from both Playboy and Charactopia with Playboy retaining majority ownership of the Playboy China joint venture, which is valued by the partners at USD 250 million. The Playboy China joint venture team will work closely with the Playboy apparel team in the U.S. to ensure a unified presentation and positioning for the Playboy brand globally. The closing of the formation of the Playboy China joint venture pursuant to the shareholders agreement is subject to the execution of additional definitive documentation and the satisfaction of other conditions precedent.
PLBY Group has obtained consent from its senior secured lenders and holders of PLBY Group's Series A Preferred Stock for members of the PLBY Group to enter into the shareholders agreement and other related documentation and to consummate the transactions contemplated thereby, as applicable. There is no guarantee that members of the PLBY Group will be able to consummate the formation of the joint venture, or related transactions, or that the joint venture will be successful. PLBY Group expects to complete the formation, and begin operations of, the joint venture in the first quarter of 2023.
PLBY Group, Inc. is a global pleasure and leisure company. The Company operates through three segments: Direct-to-Consumer, Licensing and Digital Subscriptions and Content. Its Direct-to-Consumer segment operates through its owned-and-operated e-commerce platform, retail stores and sales of its products through third-party retailers. The Licensing segment includes trademark licenses for third-party consumer products, location-based entertainment businesses and online gaming. Its Digital Subscriptions and Content segment comprises the Playboy Club, its creator-led platform on playboy.com, and Playboyâs adult content offerings, including playboyplus.com and playboy.tv. In addition, Playboy TV is offered through multiple-system operators (MSOs) around the globe, including U.S. MSOs DIRECTV, Comcast, Dish, Charter, Cox, Altice, and Mediacom. Its offerings are focused on four areas: sexual wellness, style and apparel, digital entertainment and lifestyle and beauty and grooming.