The announcement of the purchase from ICS Entertainment Inc. comes just one day after the close of Internext, though rumors of the possible acquisition have been swirling for weeks.
AVN, which brought in new company investors almost a year ago, said in its announcement Tuesday that even more changes are coming to the adult entertainment media outlet, but that "it has no plans to alter the basic functionality or character" of GFY.
While AVN founder Paul Fishbein declined to comment to XBIZ on terms of the acquisition, the GFY purchase represents another move by the media outlet to strengthen its brand after the ownership change, which Fishbein substantiated on industry blog LukeIsBack.com in November.
Fishbein, who told XBIZ he'd rather "keep that information close to the vest," referred additional questions to Theo Sapoutzis, chairman of the AVN board of directors.
Sapoutzis, who is traveling from Las Vegas, wasn't immediately available for comment, but in AVN's announcement of the acquisition he said the company plans on "reaffirming AVN’s role as a business innovator," particularly since the company recently purchased Webmaster Access and AdultWhosWho.
According to AVN, GFY's Eric Matis will maintain his “Head Zookeeper” role, which he has had since 2001.
Prior to the acquisition by AVN, Matis was vice president of affiliate programs and industry relations at Playboy, which ran GFY through its ICS division after it was purchased in September 2005 in a multi-package deal that bought out Lensman's ICS for $12 million.
That deal included all ICS properties, including GFY.com, RealityCash, Webmaster Access and CinemaPlay Entertainment Group, a Chatsworth, Calif.-based video distribution outlet.
