REPORT: PLAYBOY MAY BID FOR DICK CLARK’S FORMER COMPANY

Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Enterprises is weighing a bid for Dick Clark Productions, the New York Post reported today (Thursday), citing no sources. DCP is currently controlled by investment firm RedZone Capital, whose principal shareholder is Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.. (Clark sold his company in 2001 to a group of private investors for $137 million but remained as chairman and CEO until he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2004; RedZone bought a 60-percent stake for $175 million in 2007.) The Post noted that an acquisition by Playboy “would put the TV-production company behind squeaky clean shows such as So You Think You Can Dance under the same roof as the adult-entertainment company responsible for Naked Happy Girls.” A Playboy spokeswoman denied that the company had expressed any interest in DCP. Last week the Los Angeles Times reported that a number of potential buyers for DCP were lining up, including American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.