Dec 16 (Reuters) - Iconix Brand Group Inc (ICON.O) is breaking off talks with Playboy Enterprises (PLA.N) due to difficulties surrounding the separation of the Playboy brand and the company's other assets, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Photo : Shaun Curry/AFP

Iconix, which owns and licenses clothing brands such as Candies, Joe Boxer, and Rocawear, was looking to bring in a publishing partner to buy Playboy's namesake magazine while it would keep the brand licensing part of the company.

Last month, Playboy Enterprises said it will outsource all its publishing operations except for editorial to American Media Inc in a bid to cut costs and return its namesake magazine to profitability in two years.

Playboy and Iconix could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours. (Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Lincoln Feast)