The iBill wheel keeps on turning, with its intended buyer Care Concepts agreeing to buy almost half the non-voting common stock of Penthouse publisher General Media. The buy comes almost two months after Care Concepts initiated its purchase of iBill from General Media parent Penthouse International.
General Media, expected to come up from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection next month, is also expected to be renamed as Penthouse Media Group, Care Concept said when announcing their planned stock buy. Care Concept will buy the stock from affiliates of Florida financier Marc Bell, whose Marc Bell Capital Partners affiliate PET Capital is said to hold 89 percent of General Media's senior notes and backed the company reorganization plan.
That plan, according to a published report, includes General Media's debt being swapped for all new shares in the reorganized Penthouse Media Group. It also includes Bell and an as-yet unnamed associate running Penthouse, where Bell is believed to aiming toward softening the magazine's fabled hardcore content in a bid to reach a wider audience.
The news also came three days after Care Concepts delayed closing on its buyout of iBill from Penthouse International, over a notice the American Stock Exchange would de-list Care Concepts common stock until questions were answered related to the iBill purchase.
Care Concepts insisted, however, that they had no plans to renege on buying iBill. The company said that if the impasse isn't resolved and the AMEX doesn't approve the iBill buy completion by January 21, 2005, Care Concepts would close the deal anyway, withdraw from AMEX, and look to re-list Care Concept stock on another trading exchange.
