Penthouse Buys Swinger Social Network Sites

Stung by the blow that free videos have dealt to the sex-related entertainment industry, Penthouse Media Group is investing $500M in social networking sites. Penthouse has acquired Various Inc., whose flagship site, adultfriendfinder, is a self-described personals community for swingers and sex, the New York Times reports.

With the investment, Penthouse aspires to broaden its sex-related offerings to  18-to-34-year-old males. “The rationale here is, it’s an online world,” said Penthouse CEO Marc H. Bell, who has retooled Penthouse magazine from classic XXX to a lifestyle-focused adult version of Maxim. Various also owns other networking sites, including bigchurch.com, which helps users “meet people who share the same spiritual beliefs as you.” (More Penthouse stories.)