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Penthouse magazine owner files for bankruptcy

Bob Guccione and model Danielle Deneux, 1981 Penthouse Pet of the Year.
Bob Guccione and model Danielle Deneux, 1981 Penthouse Pet of the Year.Read moreAssociated Press
    by Sam Wood, PHILLY.COM
    Published 

Owners of the former pornographic powerhouse Penthouse magazine filed for bankruptcy this week in Wilmington citing up to $1 billion in debts.

PMGI Holdings, which also owns adult dating website FriendFinder, filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware Sept. 17.  An announcement on the FriendFinder Networks website said the company will continue to operate.

Struggling to compete with the oceanic amount of free porn on the internet, the company's stock was delisted by NASDAQ in August after it sank to below $1 a share. Today it was trading at 4 cents over-the-counter.

Bankruptcy will allow the company to "reduce interest expense, eliminate debt, and strengthen our flagship brands," according to its CEO, Anthony Previte.

Penthouse magazine was founded in 1965 by Bob Guccione as a raunchier competitor to Playboy magazine. The publication grossed at least $3.5 billion during its run under Guccione. He resigned from Penthouse International in 2004. He died six years later.