TORONTO, Canada - The owner of adultery website Ashley Madison, founder and former CEO of parent company Avid Life Media, had been struggling to sell the brand or raise funds prior the publication of details about its members, according to internal documents and emails.

The documents were also released by hackers as part of their assault on the company in recent weeks, which started with the publication of the names and personal information of millions of subscribers to the service, which allows married individuals to 'hook up' with other married partners.

Some unnamed investors reportedly wanted to pull out, and multiple attempts to close a deal or raise funds with buyers and new investors failed, while a public market debut looked increasingly unlikely, the documents show.

The reports came after Avid Life Media announced on Friday that CEO and founder Noel Biderman had left the company with immediate effect. His departure is the latest sign of the wrenching impact on the company of the hacking attack.

In an April 2015 letter addressed to all its investors, Avid Life acknowledged said it would buy back up to US $10 million worth of shares after some investors had pressed it to improve liquidity so they could sell shares.

"Over the last couple of years, we have not been successful in exploring various alternatives including a sale of the business and seeking debt from third parties," the letter, signed by the board of directors, stated.

Avid Life and its board of directors have not responded to the new reports, while former CEO Biderman has reportedly ignored media requests for comment.

The attack will have a major impact on the price Avid Life could command in any sale of assets, assuming any buyer would be willing to take on a company facing several multi-million dollars lawsuits and a computer network that has been badly infiltrated.

Several messages released as part of the second hack show that Biderman was trying to secure a meeting with executives at media mogul Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp, which owns online dating assets Match.com and Tinder.

They are being prepared for a public market spinoff and Biderman's goal was to start acquisition talks with the much larger rival.

IAC declined to comment "on rumors and speculation about transactions."