Founded in 1972 by Chuck Holmes, San Francisco-based Falcon is comprised of a family of gay content and video production studios, such as Falcon Studios, Jocks Studios, Mustang Studio and Falcon International brands. The studios and Conwest were most recently part of the Charles M. Holmes Foundation, a charitable foundation for the gay and lesbian community.
The buyout was organized through 3Media Corp., a company that was formed by Falcon executives Terry Mahaffey and Todd Montgomery, both of whom have been with Conwest since 2003 and have been instrumental in ramping up retail, streaming and distribution channels for Falcon.
Under the terms of the deal, 3Media will serve as the corporate parent and holding company of the Falcon Family of Companies, although over time, 3Media will resume the Conwest name.
Conwest board member Steve Johnson will also serve as chairman of the board for 3Media.
According to David McKay, director of marketing for Falcon, the purpose of the buyout was to create a separation between the content side of the company and the Charles M. Holmes Foundation, which functions as a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore.
"To keep things simple, Terry, Todd and Steve created 3Media Corp. through which they could acquire Conwest," Mckay told XBiz.
The buyout will instead help both entities focus on their individual charters, Mckay added.
"The buyout really lets the Holmes Foundation go their way and it lets us go our way in terms of running a for-profit company," he added.
According to a company statement, along with the buyout, Mahaffey will continue to focus on film production and talent development as the president and CEO of the Falcon Family of Companies, and Montgomery will maintain overall business and operational oversight as president and CEO of 3Media.
