CHATSWORTH, Calif. — European adult content conglomerate Private Media Group has been purchased by Prague-based WGCZ, parent company of XVideos, several sources have confirmed to XBIZ.
This is the latest acquisition in the past few years by WGCZ, a company that is widely recognized as MindGeek's principal competitor.
Besides XVideos.com, which according to third-party traffic reports is competitive worldwide with PornHub, WGCZ reportedly also owns BangBros, the Budapest-based DDF Network and has a controlling interest in the productions loosely gathered under the Legal Porno brand.
Stateside, WGCZ has owned the Penthouse brand since 2018 and members of the Penthouse staff in Chatsworth also serve as WGCZ officers.
Private Media Group has its roots in a Hefner-style magazine empire in Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s, but over the years it diversified into other forms of media and relocated much of its operations to Barcelona, Spain.
The constant for Private (sometimes pronounced "Pree-vaht") has been a higher level of production and the projection of a luxury image.
"Before the internet, you'd walk into an adult bookstore, and you'd see racks and racks of $39.95 or $29.95 VHS tapes," remembered industry attorney J. D. Obenberger. "Above all those, there were the Private titles, which were $79.95 or $89.95, and it meant Miss Universe-quality women in amazing landscapes. Very European. It appealed to a small segment of the market that wanted the most beautiful women and the most luxurious productions."
Lawyers for WGCZ in a 2015 Nevada lawsuit described the company as "organized and existing under the laws of the Czech Republic," with Stephane and Malore Pacaud listed as top executives. According to sources, the Pacauds are siblings, originally from France, who were in the domain-name business in the late 1990s and early 2000s.