Exclusive-OnlyFans owner in talks to sell to investor group at about $8 billion value, sources say
FILE PHOTO: A logo for OnlyFans is seen in this illustration picture, February 29, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) -OnlyFans owner Fenix International Ltd is in talks to sell the porn-driven company to an investor group at a valuation of around $8 billion, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The group is led by the Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, the sources said. Reuters could not identify the investors in the group.
The investor group and current deal value have not previously been reported.
OnlyFans, which exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, is best known as an online platform that enables porn creators to charge subscribers for content. OnlyFans takes 20% of creators' earnings.
In the year ended November 2023, the company generated $6.6 billion in revenue, according to a filing with British regulators. That is up from $375 million in 2020, and this rapid growth has attracted investor interest.
Some executives at Forest Road were part of a special purpose acquisition company that was in talks to take OnlyFans public in 2022, according to sources and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
OnlyFans and Forest Road declined to comment.
One of the three sources and another source familiar with sale discussions said Fenix International Ltd is also in talks with other potential suitors.
The London-based company has drawn interest from several suitors in recent months.
Talks have been held at least since March, the people said. Three sources said a deal could be reached in the next week or two. The sources also cautioned that there was no certainty a deal will be struck and requested anonymity ahead of an official announcement.
An initial public offering is also being considered, three of the sources said.
The company's sole shareholder is Leonid Radvinsky, a Ukrainian American whose location could not be confirmed. He bought OnlyFans in 2018 and has paid himself at least $1 billion in dividends over the past three years, British filings showed.
Last year, Reuters published a series of investigative stories on OnlyFans that documented complaints in U.S. police and court records that child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual pornography has appeared on the site since 2019. The series also identified cases of sex traffickers using the platform to abuse and exploit women.
Porn makes OnlyFans untouchable for many big banks and investors, sources have told Reuters, because due diligence might find illegal content such as child sexual abuse material, trafficking victims and nonconsensual porn.
The New York Post reported on Wednesday the company was exploring a potential sale.
Founded in 2017, Forest Road is an investment firm interested in media, renewable energy and digital assets, according to its website. Its ventures have included a Formula E racing team and it in 2024 expanded its advisory business by acquiring a majority stake in ACF Investment Bank.
(Reporting by Linda So in Washington D.C., Echo Wang and Milana Vinn in New York and Andrew Marshall in London; editing by Kenneth Li and Cynthia Osterman)
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