Honey Birdette Acquired for $333 Million by PLBY Group

The Playboy-owned Group will own 100 percent of the brand, which is female-founded and one of Australia’s leading lingerie brands.

PLBY Group plans to use the acquisition in a two-fold plan. The first is to expand the global representation of Honey Birdette into new territories and product categories. The acquisition will also help utilise the Honey Birdette branding and customer base to further expand its own Playboy branding.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Honey Birdette to PLBY Group,” said Ben Krohn the CEO of PLBY Group. “We strongly believe in the power of brands and are thrilled by Honey Birdette’s potential to become a multi-billion-dollar luxury lifestyle franchise. I’ve been enormously impressed by Eloise and the rest of the Honey Birdette team and the organic, rapid growth they’ve driven.

“Our plan is two-fold: to leverage PLBY Group and the Playboy brand’s global operations to accelerate Honey Birdette’s expansion into new territories and product categories, and to take advantage of Honey Birdette’s superior product design, sourcing and direct-to-consumer capabilities to accelerate our Playboy-branded lingerie, loungewear, swimwear, and sexual wellness go-to-market plans targeting the masstige consumer. This acquisition is expected to further our mission to become the leading pleasure and leisure lifestyle platform and our commitment to deliver long-term value to our shareholders,”

Eloise Monaghan, Founder and Managing Director of Honey Birdette

The lingerie brand was founded by Eloise Monaghan in 2006 in Brisbane and currently operates more than 60 stores in three countries, including Australia, in Europe and the US. Honey Birdette currently forecasting a projected revenue of $75 million this FY and approximately $28 million of EBITDA – estimating over 40 percent and 95 percent YoY growth, respectively.

“When I founded Honey Birdette 15 years ago, my ambition was to build a brand for women, by women; a brand that would serve as a platform for confidence and sexual and body empowerment,” said Mongham on the acquisition. “I am immensely proud of everything we’ve accomplished – with 60 thriving stores across three countries – powered by 350 fierce female ambassadors.

“Today is a momentous and proud day for the Honey Birdette team as we enter into a partnership with one of the world’s most iconic brands and the lifestyle platform it represents. I’m thrilled to join Ben and the whole PLBY Group team on a mission to build a lifestyle of pleasure for all.”

The future for Honey Birdette includes the expansion of its digital retail platforms, including the extension of its store footprint in Europe, the UK and the US. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021.

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