Brands
P.V. Sindhu Panasonic Batteries’ face for 3 yrs
MUMBAI: PV Sindhu, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist, currently ranked World No.6, dawns a new role starting today as the brand ambassador of Panasonic Energy India Co. Ltd – one of India’s largest manufacturer & supplier of dry cell batteries and lighting products.
The 21 year old, ace-badminton player has been signed on for Panasonic’s Battery division for the next three years as a part of strategic decision to enrich the brand image and challenge the ‘numero uno’ position.
“Panasonic batteries have always been known for its performance and reliability. I am looking forward to carry forth this communication and be a part of the growth journey,” stated Sindhu at the event.
“PV Sindhu exudes power and performance through her sport. These are precisely the traits that Panasonic Batteries are known for,” stated Panasonic India and South-Asia president and CEO Manish Sharma.
Panasonic Energy CMD M. Morikawa added, “PV Sindhu seemed a natural extension to Panasonic Batteries. Both are best known for their consistency and are aggressively growing to clinch the numero uno position.”
Born in Hyderabad, Ms. Sindhu is the youngest recipient of India’s fourth highest civilian honor, the Padma Shri. She is the youngest and the very first Indian shuttler to have reached the finals of a women’s singles event in an Olympics badminton event. She’s also a recipient of other prestigious awards such as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Sports among others.
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.
