BOCA RATON, Fla. - Lars Mapstead, vice president of marketing for Various, Inc., parent company of AdultFriendFinder, discussed the company's $500 million sale to Penthouse in an exclusive interview with AVN Online on Wednesday morning.
Company owner and founder Andrew Conru had "wanted to diversify a bit, so to speak," Mapstead said.
"He wanted to take a little bit off the table and proceed with some other interests down the road," he said. "The company will remain as is, with an addition of about 50 to 60 employees. Our staff will remain status quo.
"You will see more changes on the Penthouse side. The AFF staff will be managing all of the Penthouse properties. We will be managing all of their affiliate programs and working with them to convert better. So, basically, FriendFinder is going to be the online technology group for Penthouse."
Mapstead and Conru will maintain equity positions in AdultFriendFinder and said they have a "significant stake still in the combined company." They also plan to maintain their positions and day-to-day operations with Adult FriendFinder. Mapstead will remain in marketing, while Conru will move into the position of "technology overseer."
Mapstead said he and Conru have been looking to sell AdultFriendFinder to Penthouse for the past year.
"We admire Penthouse for their great name brand that was very attractive to us," Mapstead said. "It makes a lot of sense to marry our company with a great name brand."
Mapstead said the deal is part of a trend in the industry at large.
"For the past two years, I have spoken on a number of panels about the state of the industry," he said. "I have continued to say that the process has begun and will continue to be unraveling with acquisitions ... and consolidations in the industry. It's just a natural process and maturing of the industry. It started a couple years ago when Andrew and I merged Streamray and Adult FriendFinder together. It became very clear to me that a lot more of this would be going on. I expect many more acquisitions to occur in the future."
Mapstead also extended his gratitude for their affiliates. "We really appreciate our affiliate base for helping us to get where we are now. This deal will only strengthen the company and allow for them to make even more money with us."
