The IPO Market Is Dead... Except For Porn?
from the seems-unlikely dept
The IPO market had almost entirely dried up already, before we reached financial meltdown in the second half of the year -- and the resulting financial crisis certainly hasn't made the IPO market any brighter. So, we certainly weren't expecting to hear of any internet companies trying to go public... but it seems at least one company thinks that now's the right time for an online porn company to go public. Apparently, Adult FriendFinder has filed to go public. The company, which used to be known as Penthouse Media Group until it bought the startup Adult Friendfinder not so long ago, is hoping to raise a bunch of money. I'd be surprised if this actually went anywhere. While some might claim that porn is always a growth market, it's a highly competitive one, and often seen as a bit sketchy on the business side. Plus, the underwriters are a little known Russian investment bank. On top of all that, it's looking to use the money not for expansion, but mostly to pay off debt. In this economic climate, with the current IPO window slammed pretty tightly shut, does anyone actually expect this one to go anywhere?
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Filed Under: ipo, porn
Companies: adult friendfinder
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Sketchy but Significant
The porn part is just a bit of the concern What about the investment bank? What is known about the Penthouse Media Group?
On the other hand, this business is a cash machine. Started in Palo Alto by a Stanford Ph.D. in computer science and has been humming ever since. They are on track to do $320 million in revenues this year. Spam or no spam there is a lot of free cash generated.
I suspect some other private player will acquire it from the current shareholders.
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I'm in
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Double entendre
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another blast
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What's So Bad About That?
So a porno company may be profiting a bunch of Russian or Californian folks? That is the business of the people rich enough to buy the stock certificates they are printing up and offering to sell.
How could those stock certificates be any more worthless than the US currency which will be tendered for those same certificates? Which situation is more of a fraud? The way I see it, the certificates might eventually be worth MORE than the DOLLARS they are bought with.
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Re: What's So Bad About That?
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Re: What's So Bad About That?
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but will being a stock holder
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Porn?
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