Penthouse owner offers to buy Playboy magazine

Los Angeles : The owner of men's magazine Penthouse announced Thursday it has entered a bid to buy its struggling rival Playboy for $210 million.

The offer is about 10 percent higher than the proposal made earlier this week by Playboy founder Hugh Hefner who bid $184 million dollars last week to take the company private.

FriendFinder Networks, the owner of Penthouse, said that its proposal was "in the best interest of Playboy Enterprises and its stockholders, providing a basis for future growth of the Playboy brand and enhancing the Playboy legacy".

The company said that it would keep Playboy's management in place and allow Hefner to continue living in the Playboy Mansion.

"We believe that together we can create a 21st century media powerhouse and generate tremendous synergies through the combination of Playboy's iconic brands and licensing engine with the Penthouse brands," said Marc Bell, FriendFinder Networks president and chief executive officer.