Another victim of the web?

Sex didn’t sell: Penthouse mag owner goes bankrupt

Penthouse magazine may have a new sugar daddy waiting in the wings.

The fate of the 48-year-old smut rag is in question after parent FriendFinder Networks filed for Chapter 11 yesterday, sources told The Post.

As the reorganized FriendFinder scrambles for profits with a portfolio of social-networking sites, it’s doubtful whether creditors who are taking control of the company are committed to keeping the iconic porn publication alive, insiders said.

“Like all magazines, it’s struggling,” said one source briefed on the situation.

But the glossy girlie mag founded by Bob Guccione, whose monthly circulation has sagged to less than 200,000 from 5 million at its peak, is being circled by New Jersey-born entrepreneur Jeremy Frommer, according to insiders.

Last year, Frommer acquired a trove of memorabilia owned by the late Guc­cione that included nude photos of Madonna and a picture of former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger engaged in a sex act.

Reached Tuesday, Frommer declined to comment. A spokesman for FriendFinder also declined to comment.

Sources said Frommer, a former Wall Street trader whose investments include New York night clubs and film projects, “doesn’t want to see them close the magazine,” said a source close to the situation.

That’s despite the fact that Penthouse has been losing money for years as its male readers have been lured away in droves by free Internet porn sites.

The Penthouse brand as a whole, acquired out of a previous stint in bankruptcy court a decade ago by tech entrepreneur Marc Bell, is “very profitable,” fueled in particular by TV broadcasts of dirty videos in Europe, according to a source close to FriendFinder.

Indeed, Penthouse filed for bankruptcy in 2002 mainly because of debts racked up by the late Guccione, as he pursued non-smut-related business ventures including small fusion reactors and a failed casino project in Atlantic City.

Bell, who tried unsuccessfully in 2010 to buy Playboy for $210 million, is surrendering control of FriendFinder in a prepackaged bankruptcy deal that will eliminate $300 million in debt.