It looks like Penthouse owner FriendFinder Networks, which had scrapped plans to go public last year, is finally going ahead with its initial public offering.
The Boca Raton-based company said that it had already sold 5 million shares of common stock for $10 per share, raising $50 million that it will use to pay down its debt.
The stock is expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on Wednesday under the symbol “FFN,” the company said. FriendFinder expects to issue 26.3 million shares by the end of the IPO.
Marc Bell, FriendFinder’s owner and chief executive, offered to buy rival Playboy last summer before Hugh Hefner took the magazine private. Bell’s bid for Playboy was $210 million — or $25 million more than Hefner’s offer to the board. (Hefner scoffed at Bell’s offer, "Penthouse is just looking for publicity," Hef told TheWrap at the time. "Playboy isn't in play. I'm buying, not selling.")
FriendFinder — which operates such websites as AdultFriendFinder.com,
Amigos.com, AsiaFriendFinder.com, Cams.com, FriendFinder.com, BigChurch.com and SeniorFriendFinder.com — reported a loss of $43.2 million in 2010 on revenue of $346 million.
