Pornhub owner MindGeek sold to Canada's Ethical Capital

Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners (ECP) on Thursday said it had acquired Pornhub owner MindGeek, which has been mired in controversy over recent years.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Luxembourg-based MindGeek has been a centrepiece in the adult entertainment industry since the advent of video streaming, but concerns over the company's business model triggered the departure of its top management last year.

Pornhub, MindGeek's flagship site, was also cut off by Visa and Mastercard's payment networks in 2020 following investigations that identified unlawful content on the platform.

MindGeek has since said that Mastercard reinstated access to its subscription sites, but both the payments firms suspended ties with the company's advertisement arm TrafficJunky after a lawsuit raised questions over whether they could be facilitating child pornography.

"We are engaged with the team at MindGeek and with stakeholders, including content creators, advocates, law enforcement, civil society partners and policy makers to inform our efforts and strengthen MindGeek's secure platforms, going beyond legal and regulatory obligations," said Solomon Friedman, ECP's founding partner.