Private Media Group Delisted by Securities and Exchange Commission

BARCELONA—Private Media Group is no longer considered a publicly traded company after the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday revoked the company's registered securities. Private had been publicly traded on the OTC market under the symbol PRVT. According to a notice from SEC Secretary Brent J. Fields, the decision became final today. "The time for filing a petition for review of the initial decision in this proceeding has expired. No such petition has been filed by Pioneer Exploration, Inc., Premier Brands, Inc., or Private Media Group, Inc., and the Commission has not chosen to review the decision on its own initiative," the SEC notice said. "Accordingly, notice is hereby given, pursuant to Rule 360(d) of the Commission's Rules of Practice, that the initial decision of the administrative law judge has become the final decision of the Commission with respect to Pioneer Exploration, Inc., Premier Brands, Inc., and Private Media Group, Inc. The order contained in that decision is hereby declared effective. The initial decision ordered that, pursuant to Section 12(j) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrations of each class of registered securities of Pioneer Exploration, Inc., Premier Brands, Inc., and Private Media Group, Inc., are revoked." In a statement, Private Media CEO Charles Prast told AVN Monday, "This notification, which is part of an ongoing SEC process to remove small companies from active trading, was not unexpected given the divergent evolution of the industry and the profiles of publicly traded companies. Given the nature of today's capital markets we respect this decision and understand the rationale behind it." Founded in 1965, Private produces adult entertainment distributed through a range of platforms including internet, broadcast TV, cable, IPTV, mobile, print and retail. The company owns PrivateTV, a 24/7 European adult channel. It also licenses the Private trademark to third-party digital media service providers and select manufacturers of consumer goods.