Here’s The Tech IPO You’ve Been Looking For: A Debt-Ridden Collection Of Porn Sites And Social Networks
What kind of tech and media company tries to go public in this economy? A tech and media company with no other options.
That’s the story behind yesterday’s filing by FriendFinder Networks Inc., a collection of porn sites and adult networks that wants to raise $460 million via the public markets.
Given that the media industry is in the dumps, the tech IPO market was closed even before the economy’s collapse and that the prospects of floating any kind of offering in the public markets is dicey at best, it would be hard to find a worse time to try this route. But FriendFinder doesn’t have much choice: It has very little cash and a lot of debt, and some of that is already in default.
The details: The money-losing company has $43 million in cash, and $420 million in short-term debt. It is either in default on much of the debt or can’t find anyone to lend it that much, so it’s hoping that the equity markets step up.
