MindGeek, which operates the Montreal-based pornography site PornHub, is being purchased by an Ottawa private equity firm, Ethical Capital Partners of Ottawa.
Pricing was not disclosed.
Founded in 2022, Ethical Capital Partners (ECP) is a private equity firm that claims to put ethics at the heart of its investment decisions. Among its founders are Solomon Friedman and Fady Mansour, two defense attorneys, and Derek Ogden, a former RCMP officer who in the past ran a chain of cannabis shops, according to the Globe and Mail.
Relying on the press release announcing the transaction published Thursday afternoon, ECB intends to rely on the ethical nature of MindGeek to monetize its comparative advantages.
“At ECP, we look for innovative and ethical companies that operate at the frontier of new and evolving sectors. With MindGeek, we have identified a dynamic technology brand that is built on foundations of trust, security and compliance. With ECP’s resources and deep expertise in regulation, enforcement, public engagement and finance, we have a unique opportunity to strengthen what already exists,” said Fady Mansour, Partner and founder of ECP.
The lawyer is a recognized criminal lawyer in Ottawa. It’s M.e Mansour who defended Aissatou Diallo, the OC Transpo bus driver who hit a bus shelter, claiming the lives of three people in January 2019.
It was impossible to speak to MM. Mansour and Friedman on Thursday.
MindGeek is a controversial company that has been accused in the past of uploading child pornography and sexual assault. Visa and Mastercard have cut ties with the internet broadcaster after an investigation by the New York Times published in December 2020. The company is facing legal proceedings in several jurisdictions, recalls the Toronto daily.
“The important thing right now is that the countless victims of child abuse, sex trafficking and rape who have had their lives shattered by Pornhub and MindGeek get justice and that the former owners and current owners continue to be held legally responsible for the harm caused,” said Laila Mickelwait, founder of the #Traffickinghub movement, in an email.
Mme Mickelwait is also the founder and president of the American organization Justice Defense Fund. She led an intense campaign against MindGeek in the United States. She is quoted extensively in the Netflix documentary on PornHub released this week.
Founded in 2007, PornHub is now visited daily by more than 130 million adults, according to the statement announcing the transaction. Besides PornHub, MindGeek operates YouPorn, Redtube, Brazzers, Men.com, Sean Cody, Trans Angels, and Nutaku.
An extremely discreet company, MindGeek was the subject of an investigation by The Press in 2016. Journalist Maxime Bergeron had drawn up his business model. Basically, the company employed IT specialists in Montreal, its revenue-collecting subsidiary was based in Dublin, and its head office was located in Luxembourg.
Former MindGeek boss Feras Antoon, who resigned from his post in June 2022, was suspected in the past of taking advantage of inside information to enrich himself when the company Amaya bought the gaming platform in PokerStars line. No charges were ever filed against him.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Former MindGeek boss Feras Antoon
Mr. Antoon had a huge house built in the Saraguay district, in the northwest of Montreal. To erect it, the porn mogul had 220 trees cut down near the Bois-de-Saraguay nature park in 2018. Put up for sale when the setbacks were piling up for MindGeek, the property was set on fire in April 2021 .
In an interview with the magazine Vanity Fairin January 2022, Mr Antoon said he believed his property had been targeted by extremist religious groups.
The businessman also had to explain himself in April 2021 before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics of the House of Commons about pornography in line hosted in Canada.
Today, MindGeek is made elsewhere, if we are to believe the content of the press release. “The company provides trusted environments to enable users to have a safe online experience, and to strengthen its communities by celebrating diversity, inclusion and expression,” it reads.
According to Globe and Mail, three of the founders of ECP wanted to acquire MindGeek as early as 2021 through the company Bruinen. According to an investment memorandum obtained by the newspaper, they were prepared to pay US$475 million. Also according to this document, MindGeek would have generated 482 million US dollars in revenue and 186 million US dollars in earnings before interest, taxes and amortization in 2020.
Who are the acquirers of MindGeek?
Solomon Friedman
He is a criminal lawyer and partner of the firm Friedman Mansour. He has represented clients in all jurisdictions of the country, including Quebec, reads his biographical note on the University of Ottawa website where he teaches proof part-time. He often appears in the media as an expert. He contributed to the column of the Citizen titled “Right to Know”. A specialist in legal issues relating to firearms, he is co-author of a book on this annotated law at LexisNexis. A law graduate from the University of Ottawa in 2009, he worked at the Supreme Court of Canada under the supervision of Justice Morris Fish.
Fady Mansour
A partner in the firm of Friedman Mansour, he is a graduate of the Faculty of Law of the University of Alberta. He has represented people charged with murder, attempted murder, firearms offences, major sexual assault, drug trafficking and child pornography. Among other things, he defended Aissatou Diallo, the OC Transpo bus driver who hit a bus shelter, claiming the lives of three people in January 2019. Likes to handle weapons, he regularly defends those accused. violations of firearms laws.
Derek Ogden
He spent nearly 27 years with the RCMP. He served as Officer in Charge of Drug Enforcement and Director General of the Anti-Drug Enforcement and Organized Crime Sub-Directorate. After retiring from the RCMP, he chaired Obsidian Consulting & Investigations, detectives serving organizations seeking to protect their intellectual property. In 2014, he became chief operating officer of Vida Cannabis, a cannabis producer. Subsequently, he served as president of the chain of cannabis shops National Access Cannabis, which became Meta Growth. Bilingual, Mr. Ogden is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick and Queens.
Sarah Bain
A public relations specialist for 20 years, Sarah Bain worked with the Liberal Party of Canada, where she advised ministers. As Vice President of Public and Institutional Affairs at Hill+Knowlton, she provided strategic advice regarding medical and recreational cannabis during the era of its legalization. According to her LinkedIn profile, in October 2022 she founded her own agency Liskeard Consulting, specializing in crisis management. She is a graduate of the University of Ottawa.
Andre Dubuc, The Press