Penthouse facing bankruptcy

The publisher of Penthouse, the glossy mens magazine that once rivalled Playboy, has filed for bankruptcy protection in New York with debts of €35m.

General Media’s debts were €75m two years ago when they were restructured. But the resulting interest and principal payments turned out to be too severe for the company to bear.

The publisher is 99.5% owned by Penthouse International which has not filed for bankruptcy. However eight other Penthouse companies did file.

Earlier this year the magazine’s founder Bob Guccione said: “The future has definitely migrated to electronic media,” he said, insisting that there is no future for magazines such as Penthouse.