Brands
ABD Maestro bags Distiller of the Year at Icons of Whisky India 2026
ARTHAUS campaign win adds sparkle as firm marks first anniversary
MUMBAI: ABD Maestro Pvt. Ltd., the super-premium and luxury spirits arm of Allied Blenders & Distillers, has been named Distiller of the Year at the Icons of Whisky India Awards 2026, capping off a milestone first year for the company.
The recognition comes as ABD Maestro completes one year of operations, having built a portfolio of ten brands across categories and expressions, in line with rising consumer appetite for premium, globally benchmarked spirits.
Held in Gurugram, the 15th edition of the Icons of Whisky Awards honoured excellence in innovation, craftsmanship and leadership across the whisky industry. ABD Maestro emerged as the only Indian company to win the title alongside six international players, underscoring its growing global standing.
Adding to the wins, ARTHAUS Blended Malt Scotch Whisky was awarded ‘Campaign Innovator of the Year’, highlighting its differentiated positioning and engagement strategy in India’s competitive premium Scotch segment.
ABD Maestro Pvt. Ltd. managing director Bikram Basu said, “India’s super premium whisky landscape is evolving fast with consumers showing a clear preference for globally benchmarked expressions. Being named ‘Distiller of the Year’ in our first year, and as the only Indian company recognised alongside international players, is a defining milestone.”
He added that the recognition reflects the strength of the company’s portfolio and its commitment to craftsmanship, innovation and quality.
The twin honours mark a strong start for ABD Maestro, reinforcing its ambition to shape India’s luxury spirits landscape while strengthening the country’s presence on the global whisky stage.
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.
