Adult FriendFinder May Have Been Acquired For $1 Billion+

TECH CRUNCH -- Nov 17 -- Various Inc (AdultFriendFinder) has been acquired. This is a single source rumor, but the quality of the source suggests the rumor is accurate. Various is rumored to have revenues in excess of $300 million. FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH

Mark Brooks: I contacted Andrew Conru to find out more.  Here's my Blackberry conversation with him.  (Disclosure: I worked for FriendFinder in 2003 to 2004 as a marketing manager)

MB: Please keep me posted on FriendFinder's acquisition.  Good luck with it.
AC: Again untrue... I would let you know otherwise

MB: Has Friendfinder been sold?  Can you categorically state that the post on Techcrunch is false and that you have not sold Friendfinder?
AC: Yes, false.

MB: Are you in talks to sell Friendfinder at present?
AC: We always have interested parties contacting us.

MB: What is Friendfinder worth in your estimation, for a cash buy out?
AC: Who knows.

MB: Can you confirm that Friendfinder's revenue is indeed over 300 million?
AC: We don't discuss numbers :)

MB: What would you turn your attentions to if ever Friendfinder was sold?
AC: Fish farming.

MB: You're not kididng, are you?  :-)
AC: Actually, if I was not doing stuff online, I would actually like
to do aquaculture.

Comments

[James Houran]

Mark,

Some people are not convinced by this interview and counter with, "His response was to be expected. Andrew plays things extremely close to the vest and wouldn’t dare do anything on his part to spoil a potential deal."

How do you respond?

Thx,

James Houran, Ph.D.
Online Dating Magazine

[Mark Brooks]

Completely agree.

The interview proves the deal has not been done...yet.

[anon]

It was supposed to have been completed in September.

Lars told AVN Online "There is no deal, currently" (http://www.avn.com/index.cfm?objectID=59311763-D250-E2D3-F44842561D1B850F)

I think AC may have already spoiled the deal, himself.

Mark, you were there: Can you seriously believe Andrew would actually give up the reins, with his personality and ego?

You know how he *doesn't* spend money (either on himself or his staff--remember those offices?). He wouldn't even know what to DO with $1 billion, or $500 million, or whatever. Why should he care about the cash?

The two balancing factors will always be that A) Andrew's never been comfortable being in the adult industry, and B) Without his little empire he wouldn't know what to do with himself (and he probably doesn't want to take the chance on trying to repeat his success and build a new one; with good reason, IMHO--how would he build a whole new team with his reputation in the Valley?).

[Mark Brooks]

C'mon, no need to be anonymous.

I'm sure Andrew would sell up, at the right price. He's been running FriendFinder for over ten years now. He's an entrepreneur at heart and always looking for something new to do. It's time for a wholesale change for him. Like fish farming.

He drives a hard bargain and a negotiation to buy FriendFinder would be prolonged, I'm sure. I'd like to see FriendFinder sold for a reasonable amount. It would be a tremendous precedent for the casual dating side of the internet dating industry. Unfortunately, if and when it is sold you can bet sure the numbers will not be disclosed. I'd like to get the inside track on those numbers. $300 million revenue for FriendFinder sounds about right. Match is doing $90 million a quarter now, btw.

[anon]

What's "the right price" for AC, though? What does he need/want with a large lump of cash? What REALLY motivates him to keep pushing and trying to grow Various?

For years his "something new" has been throwing shit at the wall, based on the Various codebase, and hoping something sticks. The results over the past few years: Millionairemate, Icams/DoTV, Slim.com, GuanXi, QuizHappy, BreakThru... Plus the more traditional niche dating sites ItalianFF and JewishFF. Then there were his aquisitions: SpringStreet, Cams.com, Bondage.com. He doesn't quite have the Midas touch that people seem to think, now does he?

Could it be he fears being unable to replicate his one big success: The two halves of AFF and its affiliate program? Where would Andrew and Various be without that? They'd be not even worth talking about.

If and/or when Andrew sells, that's the end of his story. B-bye.

With his personality, that's got to give him pause.

Oh, BTW, last word I heard from Natalie was that once the deal with Marc Bell went through, Andrew was still going to be involved in the company. This contradicted what she'd previously said to me. Confirmation that Andrew just couldn't simply walk away with a wad of cash.

Finally: Think about how many other times Andrew has screwed a deal.

But who knows. Marc Bell has a lot of real estate holdings. Maybe the housing crisis soured the deal from his end. Maybe the deal is just on hold until the housing market improves.

Or maybe Andrew's continued involvement after the deal gave him pause because he'd now be linked to the Penthouse brand, and could no longer walk the line in his mind between being respectable and truly being a smut peddler.

You could always try asking him.

[Jiminy Cricket]

Warren Buffett’s reputation of “doesn’t” spend money brings him many respects around the world; while Andrew Conru’s “doesn’t” spend money sounds somewhat annoying according to Mr./Ms. Anon. The riches do get better treatments.

It is not the issue of AC needs the cash or not, but the issue of the principle of a good business: be profitable. AC doesn’t like the bubbles that hurt so many and only benefited a few. Just because AC doesn’t need the cash doesn’t mean he should give away the business for free, which against the principle of fair-trade. As MB pointed out: AC is standing for the industry.

Mr./Ms. Anon is right that AFF makes AC. Meanwhile, AFF ruins AC too. Do you agree that AC had the capability to create something like Club Penguin, You Tube or Face Book long time ago?

Analyzing AC’s mind by the Valley theology is leading to failure, and the confused Mr./Ms. Anon is a perfect example. AC doesn’t belong to the valley. He is a down to earth farmer at heart.