Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- FriendFinder Networks Inc., the owner of adult-themed social-networking Web sites and publisher of Penthouse magazine, filed for a $460 million initial public offering.

Proceeds of the share sale will be used to pay off debt and for other corporate expenses, the Boca Raton, Florida-based company said yesterday in a statement.

FriendFinder, formerly known as Penthouse Media Group Inc., operates more than 25 Web sites including adultfriendfinder.com and asiafriendfinder.com. Penthouse Media, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2004, acquired the sites for $500 million in cash and stock last year to counter declining revenue from its magazine unit.

So far this year, 37 companies have raised $29.6 billion in the U.S. IPO market, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with $54.4 billion raised by 243 companies in the same period a year earlier.

FriendFinder has 270 million users in more than 170 countries, according to its Web site.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Callan in New York at jcallan2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 24, 2008 11:00 EST