But may be not. A sign of just how badly the adult entertainment industry is hurting is the fate of FriendFinder Networks’ $460 million IPO — FriendFinder is the parent of Penthouse magazine. It appears that not one major bank wants to handle the IPO. As a business, DealBook points out, FriendFinder’s sites are quite lucrative. Its average member pays $19 a month and its sites receive around 2.5 per cent of the global internet traffic every day.
One possibility could be that banks are wary of getting more negative publicity. Also, if the authorities feel the site is actually promoting online prostitution, it could get shut down. As the company’s prospectus puts it, “Government officials may also place additional restrictions on adult content, affecting the way people interact on the Internet.”
