EXCLUSIVE
Playboy is shuttering its Chicago offices and relocating the company's headquarters to Los Angeles, the magazine confirmed to TheWrap on Friday morning. The Chicago offices will close April 30.
It had previously been reported that founder Hugh Hefner was moving the company's editorial and art departments to L.A. Some employees had been asked to relocate.
But now the entire headquarters are leaving the city where Playboy magazine was created in 1953. Chicago is also where Hefner was born, on April 9, 1926; he moved to L.A. in 1975.
Also read: Hugh Hefner on Puritanism, Marilyn and the Future of His Iconic Magazine
"Playboy's executives have made the difficult decision to close the company's Chicago office and move its headquarters to Los Angeles," the company said in a statement issued to TheWrap. "The company's roots began in Chicago, and the city will always be connected to the brand's beginning."
Hefner launched his men's-entertainment magazine with moneyraised from 45 investors, including his mother. The first issue was published in December of that year — it famously included a centerfold color photograph of a nude Marilyn Monroe, taken before she started her career in Hollywood.
After decades of success, in recent years, speculation has swirled that the company would be sold, to which Hefner said to TheWrap, "There is no thought about selling the company."
In March, Hefner bought back Playboy Enterprises for $207 million. He partnered with Rizvi Traverse (previously of ICM and Summit) to take the company private.
In August, Playboy Enterprises partnered with Manwin, one of the largest names in pornography’s online industry, which took over management of Playboy's TV and web properties.