FriendFinder IPO: Invest $460 Million, Get a $95,000 Car
by Peter Kafka
Posted on December 26, 2008 at 11:53 AM PT
I only had enough time to assess the big picture when I wrote about the FriendFinder Network IPO earlier this week: Money-losing porn/social-network company drowning in debt, needs public investors to bail it out.
But the FriendFinder prospectus may turn out to have multiple Christmas gifts for those who work their way through it. For instance, Nick Wingfield, my corporate cousin at The Wall Street Journal, dug up this gem under “related party transactions”:
In another interesting tidbit, the company says [predecessor company] Various purchased an automobile from the founder of Various for $125,000 on October 27, 2006 (the founder in question appears to be Andrew Conru.) The company doesn’t say what kind of car it is or why it bought it, but it doesn’t appear to have gotten a very good deal. The filing says the vehicle is currently ‘being held for sale and in 2006 was written down to its estimated net realizable value of $95,000.’ A FriendFinder spokesman didn’t immediately return a call for comment.”
I’ve also lobbed queries in to Andrew Conru and to FriendFinder’s corporate HQ, but haven’t heard back. But perhaps MediaMemo readers who are more autocentric than I am (I’ve owned one car in my life–a 1994 Toyota Tercel with vinyl seats and no air conditioning) can help answer one of my questions: What kind of used car can you get for $95,000?
Please share your thoughts with us via the comments section below; if you find the registration process too onerous, you can leave an anonymous comment via the tip box. (UPDATE: Some readers tell me it’s a Ferrari 360 Modena).
In the meantime, I’ve made my own rudimentary attempt to gauge the market for $95,000 cars: A trip to eBay’s (EBAY) Motors showroom. Here’s a sampling of what’s available in the $90,000 to $95,000 range today (click on each image to enlarge).
2006 Bentley Continental Spur. Starting bid: $95,000
2003 Ferrari 575. Starting bid: $95,000
2007 Porsche 911. Starting bid: $95,000
1970 Ford Mustang Boss. Starting bid: $90,000
2004 Lamborghini Gallardo. Starting bid: $95,000
Comments
I’ll pass. Didn’t we already go through this with friendster? Repackaged, non-scalable…….et cetera….
Posted by Mark Light at December 26th, 2008 at 2:28 pmI hear you, Mark. Seen this one before…
Posted by Angela Edwards at December 27th, 2008 at 2:30 pmProbably a MBZ or BMW. It is sad how companies spend money these days. I guess with the current crises the climate is changing and purse strings are tightening.
Posted by Steve Tarmen at May 14th, 2009 at 2:04 pmThey are really the caused of the financial crisis. I guess the new administration will help.
Posted by Garry Will at May 20th, 2009 at 8:32 pmI’ll take the 1970 Mustang. It’s styling is much nicer than any of those other cars.
Posted by John Blanca at June 22nd, 2009 at 7:39 amThe excesses of these companies is unbelievable. I can understand buying this stuff with your own money but using IPO funds is just plain wrong.
Posted by Andrew Brinkworth at June 30th, 2009 at 2:01 amLearn from WorldCom and Bernie Madoff and start making and spending money right!
Andrew Brinkworth
1970 Ford Mustang Boss looks like a stylish car.
Posted by Usman Iftikhar at July 27th, 2009 at 12:31 pmNice but not for me for sure
Posted by Azman Daud at July 31st, 2009 at 4:49 pmLove the Lamby – want to own one some day
Posted by Mark Mignet at August 14th, 2009 at 10:00 pmWanna see how friendfinder performs during this recession
Posted by vijay shekar at August 29th, 2009 at 5:37 amAgree with Mark 100%. I know where you are coming from. Been there, done that!
Posted by Martha Jones at November 18th, 2009 at 7:59 pm