Is porn really growing up? There’s no shortage of talk about the mainstreaming of the skin trade, but most of it misses the mark. Instead of ogling the Vivid Video billboard on 7th Ave, check out the OTC listings instead. Adult entertainment just got a new publicly traded player, Adult Entertainment Capital, Inc., and the flesh biz just moved a step closer to legitimacy.
For the past year and a half, we’ve seen finance creep into porn. AdultVest launched with endless fanfare and now claims it has access to $11 billion in investable assets (which doesn't mean much--see below). The company has already done a handful of deals, and with its latest, iPorn, AdultVest is playing an operating role. Penthouse Media Group International (PMGI) has announced its plans to go public, hunting for $250 million in fresh capital.
But these companies are still playing in potential. Adult Entertainment Capital is already traded, though over-the-counter (ZLST.OB). To AEC’s credit, the principals are not porn people, which means they probably have a sense of how to run a company. They’re already making acquisitions, with the ComedyNet pickup being the most recent. And, I’m told, they have more in the pipeline.
The big question that remains is whether Adult Entertainment Capital can compete with AdultVest’s war chest (and PR obsession). It’s hard to say, but take AdultVest's investable-assets number with a grain of salt — in fact, at least one grain for each of the $11 billion it claims. This snazzy number is what would happen if every AdultVest investor actually committed 100 percent of the cash they have available for investment in the flesh biz. When’s the last time shareholders followed through like that?
Tom Johansmeyer is a New York-based freelance writer. He writes “Money Matters,” an adult finance column for AVN Online. Tom has also contributed to Boston magazine, Penthouse and CPA Magazine. You can read his travel column on TraderDaily.com.
