YNOT – FriendFinder Networks Inc., parent company of the Penthouse brand and tens of thousands of adult social-networking and dating sites, announced completion of a round of debt financing Thursday. In a three-sentence statement, the company said it has secured $551,235,000, though it did not identify the source of the capital.The figure is not quite double the amount Standard & Poor’s noted the company sought. Earlier this month, S&P said FFN would issue $296 million in senior secured bonds due in 2013. S&P also noted the money was destined for recapitalization, following Securities and Exchange Commission-reported losses in 2006, 2007, 2008 and the first three quarters of 2009. In a Sept. 30, 2009 SEC filing, the most recent available, FFN reported a $27.4 million loss on $244 million in revenue. In the same filing, the company noted it carried $471 million in long-term debt.
Earlier this year, FFN postponed and initial public offering through which it hoped to raise $240 million by selling a 49-percent stake in its common stock.
In July, shortly after delaying the IPO, the company tendered a $210 million bid for Playboy, topping a $185 million previous bid tendered by Playboy founder and majority shareholder Hugh Hefner. Although Hefner declined to consider FFN’s offer, Playboy’s board formed a committee to study Hefner’s proposal to take the company private. The committee has not commented about whether it also is considering FFN’s bid.
On Thursday, FFN Chief Executive Officer Marc Bell indicated his company continues to harbor designs on Playboy.
“We remain very interested in seeing something happen between the two companies,” Bell told The Wall Street Journal.
He also said his company is preparing “three big initiatives,” although he declined to elaborate.
“We’re always looking to raise capital to grow the business,” Bell told the WSJ.
According to Bell, in 2010 FFN is expected to generate about $345 million before an offset of about $100 million in interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
