Various Inc., parent company of FriendFinder Network Inc., has acquired Bondage.com, one of the most well-known BDSM lifestyle websites.
Paired with Various' alternative-dating site Alt.com, the company expects the new acquisition to represent the world's largest online community for bondage, discipline, and fetish enthusiasts, a company spokesperson said.
Various Co-owner and Marketing Director "Legendary Lars" Mapstead said the company plans to add extensive new content to Bondage.com, including a sharp increase in the number of videos and photos available for member viewing. The site currently has several million active members and features more than 500,000 personals ads from people seeking liaisons with like-minded others.
Founded in 1996 to deliver an exciting, educational, and erotic experience to BDSM devotees and the curious, San Francisco-based Bondage.com is free and features photos of members, stories, columns, topical articles about the alternative lifestyles it represents, personals ads, and chat rooms. Various plans to run Bondage.com as a completely separate entity in order to preserve its unique chemistry and community, according to Mapstead.
"Bondage.com is an exciting bondage and fetish website, and we are proud to welcome it to our family of outstanding adult and alternative lifestyle destinations such as Alt.com and OutPersonals.com," Mapstead said. "The BDSM community is growing steadily, and we hope to be able to provide an even more compelling experience for its fans and those who are just interested in learning more about it.
"This deal continues the rapid growth-through-acquisition plan of Various Inc.," he added. "We continue to look for websites that fit into our overall marketing and technology engine to maximize their profitability while maintaining the integrity of the communities involved."
Other recent acquisitions by Various include Cams.com and Spring Street Networks. They joined company holdings including adult dating sites Passion.com and AdultFriendFinder.com and mainstream communities like alumni directory GradFinder.com, dating site FriendFinder.com, and Asian professional networking site Guanxi.com.
