Larry Flynt: Hustler Could Go Public Within 18 Months

LOS ANGELES—Forget about Alibaba. Hustler founder and publisher Larry Flynt told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Friday that he may take his iconic and privately owned company public within the next 12 to 18 months. "He said the company is already working with 'high powered' firms to study the possibility of an initial public offering," reported Bowdeya Tweh for the paper. "That's no small feat," Flynt told Tweh. "We'd just be able to raise a lot more money. We're trying to decide whether to take the whole company public or just a portion of it. The decision hasn't been made yet." Tweh also noted, "A few adult entertainment companies are publicly traded but many have returned to being privately held. Playboy Enterprises was a publicly traded company before founder Hugh Hefner took the company private in 2011. Boulder, Colorado-based New Frontier Media was publicly traded before a Hustler company bought it in 2012. "Houston-based strip club and restaurant operator RCI Hospitality Holdings, formerly Rick's Cabaret International, has been publicly traded company since 1995 and has a market capitalization of $117.2 million," the reporter added.