An entrepreneur says he’s launching a hostile, $40 million bid for struggling Maxim magazine — and says if he fails, the title could be shut down in just four months.
Andrew Fox says he’s been talking with Maxim owners “for months” about his bid to buy the bawdy lad mag. Fox, CEO of Track Entertainment, which runs Clubplanet.com, told us: “I called Cerberus [majority Maxim investor] and told them I’ve got a five-point plan to save the magazine. Either you sell it to me, or by March it will be gone.”
“My vision is to make Maxim the must-have again, using event production, Web site development, e-commerce and digital marketing and online programming. I am trying to take a strong brand and give it legs for the future. I would take the magazine and all its digital properties and make it into a $300 million business again.
“I have told them they can either sell the magazine to me, or I will go into partnership with them for an equity share.”
Fox, the longtime boyfriend of comedy club owner Caroline Hirsch, says he has the backing of former Maxim entertainment editor Aric Webb. Fox said he’s been talking to Cerberus since August but, “They are sitting on their hands.
“They keep saying they are interested but they keep saying they need a few more months. I hope the new interim CEO, Paul Miller, will meet with me this week.”
Fox refused to say if he would ax the print version, but said there would be “95 percent more focus on the Web product.” An insider predicted, “This would mean readers will soon see their last printed pages of Maxim.”
The Post’s Keith J. Kelly recently reported that Maxim, staggered by a loss of ad pages, might soon be put on the block.
A spokeswoman for Maxim, which last week celebrated its new issue featuring “Twilight” star Ashley Greene, said, “Cerberus is among a group of investors. We have received no offer and there is no negotiation.” She declined to comment on Fox’s claim that Maxim could close by March.