Playboy Mansion not as cheap as Hefner says: Suit

So how much is Hugh Hefner's iconic Playboy Mansion really worth?

The issue has arisen in a lawsuit accusing the 84-year-old media mogul of trying to take Playboy Enterprises Inc, the publisher known for nude centerfolds, private in a sweetheart deal at other shareholders' expense.

In an amended complaint filed Feb. 4 in Delaware Chancery Court, shareholders complained that an October 2010 appraisal valued the 29-room Los Angeles mansion at USD 54 million, 45 times higher than the USD 1.2 million shown on Playboy's books.

This is unfair, they say, because it leaves the entire company undervalued.

They say Playboy is shortchanging them just as the company prepares to benefit from recent cost cuts and a growing focus on licensing its iconic "Bunny Ears" logo, to offset a trend whereby more people use the Internet to view naked women.

By "overreaching," the complaint said, "Hefner is preventing Playboy Enterprises shareholders from receiving the highest price possible for their shares."

The lawsuit seeks class-action status, and said Playboy should have tried to find better offers from third parties.

Hefner controls about 70% of Playboy's Class A stock and 69.5% of its voting power, court and regulatory records show.

A Playboy spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Hefner proposed on January 10 to take Playboy private at USD 6.15 per share, valuing the Chicago-based company at USD 207 million.

The offer was 18% above where the shares had closed the prior Friday, and 12% above a separate offer that Hefner had made the previous July.

Described on its website as "Hef's Garden of Eden" and "a miniaturized Versailles," the turreted Playboy Mansion sits on a hilltop and features a pool, a gymnasium, tennis courts, a bath house and a grotto, among other accouterments.

Including land and improvements, the six-acre complex is valued at USD 5.09 million, according to the property roll of the Los Angeles County assessor's office.

Hefner paid USD 1.05 million for the property in 1971. Playboy Enterprises now owns the Gothic-and-Tudor style mansion and leases it to to him.

The mansion plays host to a variety of parties and other social events, and is a setting for film and television productions and magazine photography.

Playboy shares closed Friday up 1 cent at USD 6.14.

The case is In re: Playboy Enterprises Inc Shareholders Litigation, Delaware Chancery Court, No. 5632.