Quote:
Originally posted by Mike AI@Mar 23 2004, 08:13 AM
However, just from my brief understanding of things, Penthouse is just coming out of bankrupcy. Penhouse has not accomplished anything online, nor has it contracted with a proven player like Ken. IBill is one of, if not THE worst regarded processor in the industry and has been passed around like a bag of shit no one wants.
Penthouse a company just coming out of bankrupcy taking on 22 million defecit ( debt?) before making a dime online seems like suicide to me.
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Hi folks, i'm really a lurker here at Oprano, but I thought I could add to this discussion.
There are really two companies, General Media and Penthouse International in the mix here and there is some confusion here as to who is doing what. General Media is the bankrupt one, whereas Penthouse International is very solvent. Its a little confusing but in a nutshell, a while ago Penthouse broke their company into parts with the PHI company owning the Penthouse brand, and General Media licensing that brand from PHI to publish. It is true that General Media is having all kinds of financial problems, but dont let that make you believe that PHI are also broke dicks. Far from it in fact, they have the financial backing and also have very lucrative licensing deals from everything from casinos, strip club,resorts, clothing, international editions of the magazines and videos. With the limited cash that PHI was made to put up for this deal, they made out pretty good considering iBill is cash flow positive. The debt assumed I believe was monies owed for the original purchase of 120 or 130 something million. The original owners of iBill (go Albe!) made out like champs in that original deal. The real loser here is Intercept, who overpaid for a company whose primary revenue stream they were unprepared to go forward with.
You are misinformed as to the Internet division of General Media. The Internet Division was GM's shining star, and the financial papers filed with the SEC lists them grossing about 500-650k a month. Thats a pretty outstanding number considering they do not have a real affiliate program. I myself was a bit skeptical of those numbers but while General Media was for sale recently, in the due diligence towards making an offer on this company, I was able to see additional documentation of this SEC 10k listed revenue. Believe it, they have good revenue monthly in their internet division.
Whether you love iBill or hate them, anyone who has a significant role in the adult internet market has a vested interest in seeing all of the processors remain in business, not only for the stability but also the competition factor they bring.