After a long-awaited public offering, FriendFinder has cancelled their IPO. According to TechCrunch, flat sales and lackluster investor are to blame. The high-profile network of dating and adult sites planned to use the IPO to pay off the staggering debt, currently $471 million.
This is a big setback for FriendFinder. What can they possibly do now? It’s easy to see them spinning off AdultFriendFinder, but that was big reason that Penthouse brought the network in the first place. I can only imagine the back-room drama thats going on right now. There is always much more to the story than what’s mentioned in the media. It’s really too bad for FriendFinder, it’s IPO would have brought some legitimacy to the whole sector and loosened up investor purse strings, along with the potential for an increase in M&A deals. I’ll continue to track the situation with updates as people close to the story get back to me.
Update: According to the LA Times, FriendFinder sold 15 million shares for $7 apiece, the IPO trackers said, citing bank sources.
