New York – Europe’s leading sex-toy maker is buying a major stake in the Penthouse empire to help the magazine group emerge from bankruptcy.

German-based Beate Uhse AG, Europe’s largest maker and seller of adult novelties, and the magazine’s parent, Penthouse International, have agreed to a joint-venture rescue, it was disclosed in bankruptcy court.

The German company, named after a celebrated German female aviatrix, is expected to be an equal partner with the parent company, now controlled by Mexican soft-drink heir Dr. Luis Molina.

The deal will allow Penthouse magazine’s operating company, Media General, to exit bankruptcy in early August, said its lawyer, Robert Feinstein.

Under the latest plan, Penthouse founder Bob Guccione will get a $1 million annual salary and continue to live in his heavily hocked East 67th Street mansion for life.