Monday, Dec 29, 2008    Text size: 

Renaissance Capital is based in Moscow but has satellite offices across Eastern Europe, the U.K., in Nigeria and in New York.

The bank — considered just this summer one of largest of its kind in Russia — has struggled in the face of the global financial crunch, the Financial Times reported in September.

Earlier this year, Renaissance Capital’s New Zealand-born co-founder and CEO Stephen Jennings spurned a $3 billion acquisition offer from a state-controlled Russian bank, then turned around and sold a 50 percent stake to a former business partner for $500 million.

With financial backing from Renaissance Capital, FriendFinder Networks is looking to raise $460 million to help offset massive debt, which is estimated at $423 million, according to the Florida-based company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made last week.

In the filing, FriendFinder revealed its net income between Jan. 1 and Dec. 6, 2007 — $48.6 million, down 20.5 percent from the full year in 2006.