Brands
Dentsu to acquire Spanish sports marketing specialist Alesport
MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network has reached an agreement with the principal shareholders of Spanish sports marketing and brand activation specialist Alesport Group to acquire the operation.
Founded in 1975, Alesport Group has a strong reputation in the Spanish market as a leader in the sports and event marketing industry. The four companies under the Alesport umbrella are RMP Racing, which plans and organises sports events such as two-wheel and four-wheel motor sports, cycling, car racing, mountain bike racing and marathons; RPM Events, which plans and operates B-to-B events; Alesport, a specialized sports publishing company; and Aventurismo, which is responsible for making travel and accommodation arrangements related to competitions and other events.
Alesport is involved in the planning and operation of third-party events as well as its own sports events.
After the acquisition has been completed, Alesport Group will maintain its service structure and will work with other Dentsu Group companies in Spain and other countries to create synergies.
In its September 2015 worldwide advertising expenditure forecasts, the Dentsu Group’s media communications agency Carat announced that advertising expenditures in Spain grew 6.2 per cent in 2014, reflecting the recovery of the country’s economy. The strong growth is expected to continue, with an increase of 6.9 per cent forecast for both 2015 and 2016.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
