OTTAWA, Ontario — Pornhub and Brazzers parent company MindGeek has been acquired by a new Ottawa private equity firm, Ethical Capital Partners.
The news was first reported this morning by Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail. Ethical Capital Partners (ECP) also released a public statement outlining its strategy for MindGeek going forward.
ECP, the Globe and Mail reports, was “set up by criminal defense lawyers and a former law enforcement agent with ties to the Canadian cannabis industry.”
The report added that while ECP did not disclose how much it paid for MindGeek, it said that “alongside unnamed international investors who helped fund the deal, it now owns 100 percent of the company’s shares.”
MindGeek released a statement saying it is looking forward to working with the Ethical Capital Partners team.
The new owners told the Globe and Mail that they plan to bring more transparency to Mindgeek, with ECP founding partner Solomon Friedman, an Ottawa criminal defense lawyer, telling the Globe and Mail that the new owners hope to “openly promote ‘consensual and sex-positive adult entertainment’ and spark discussions around trust and safety in sex work.”
Other reported founding partners include Friedman’s law firm partner Fady Mansour, former RCMP police officer and cannabis entrepreneur Derek Ogden and public relations strategist Sarah Bain.
“As we did our due diligence on the company,” Friedman stated, “we also learned that MindGeek has created best-in-class tools for detecting and deterring illegal online activity. We’re excited about this tech they own and we’re very proud to be new owners.”
Friedman also said that the new owners’ first course of action will be “to re-engage with the credit card companies to hopefully win back their business.” They are also looking to fill the positions of CEO and COO, which were vacated last June by the previous owners.