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MRF Tyres launches Biking community for passionate bikers
MUMBAI: Leading Indian Tyre manufacturer MRF Tyres on Friday announced the launch of a one of a kind riding community ‘Ride Along with MRF.’
During the ICC Cricket World T20, MRF launched an initiative to add Thrill to the lives of two-wheeler owners across India. With over three lakh riders participating, it was a highly successful campaign. It also gave MRF an insight into the latent needs of bikers across India. So MRF decided to cater to these needs and fuel the passion of the riders.
This fan run portal launched by MRF aims at making group riding a more accepted phenomenon. Two-wheeler owners across India have the passion for riding, but most feel that it is a very daunting task. MRF aims at not only catering to the rising need but also making ‘going on rides’ a safe, enjoyable activity that any two wheeler owner can set out to do. The idea is to create a place where a rider, with any bike or biking experience, can come and fuel his/her passion for riding.
Additionally, MRF will also galvanise fellow riders to join the monthly ‘Ride for a Cause’ promoting a social cause or celebrating an occasion. These will be special rides which aim to raise awareness about cause across India.
Commenting on the eve of the launch of this unique initiative, MRF Tyres marketing- EVP Koshy Varghese said, “Most biking communities in India are for hard-core bikers. They are either started by Bike Brands or a set of enthusiastic riders of a particular kind of bike. Our vision is to get every bike owner in India to explore India on two-wheels. All they need is a passion for riding. So we have created a platform that helps organise and plan weekend trips that anyone can do. We want 3 or 4 friends with bikes to set simply out on rides, armed with information, support and fun ideas while being fully prepared and safe. And above all, we want to create ride stories for everyone to remember and share with their friends and family.“
While the community will start off with MRF Ride Ambassadors in 9 cities across India namely – Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Pune, Nagpur, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Dharmashala.
Some of the key features of the community are – find exclusive Ride ideas, curate ride stories across the country for the larger public, meet and network with fellow bikers, etc.
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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.
