from www.crainsnewyork.com – The publisher of Penthouse magazine is trying to go public. Best-known for its men’s magazine and West Side club, Penthouse has renamed itself FriendFinder Networks Inc. and is being recast as an adult social-networking company with such decidedly not-safe-for-work Web sites as AsiaFriendFinder.com and Cams.com. Its prospectus certainly makes for revealing reading.

The unprofitable company has $32 million in cash on hand and $650 million in liabilities. What’s more, it says it lacks existing cash or cash from operations to repay a $44.5 million debt that comes due July 31 and warns that unless it can repay or restructure the obligation, it will face “a material deficiency in our short term liquidity.”

The company says it anticipates avoiding such a fate, but adds that failure to pay the debt on time would constitute an “event of default.” That, FriendFinder says, would threaten its ability to continue as a going concern. By the way, the company also has a $118 million negative net worth.

Now here’s perhaps the oddest thing: The company is preparing to list its shares on that bastion of blue chips, the New York Stock Exchange.

How can such a struggling company join the world’s most prestigious stock exchange? An NYSE spokesman says newly listed companies are required to have at least $75 million on hand, $150 million in market value and $50 million in shareholder equity. Assuming FriendFinder can raise the $200 million it seeks in its IPO, strictly by the numbers, it would qualify for the most exclusive of clubs.

One big question is whether a Penthouse model will show up at the NYSE on the day of the company’s IPO to ring the opening bell. The NYSE spokesman said that hasn’t been determined yet.