Latest news with #ForestRoad
Time of India
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Dan Ticktum on why he looked subdued after Jakarta win: 'There were lot of emotions, from adversity and hate I've had to deal with'
Dan Ticktum secured his first-ever Formula E victory at the Jakarta E-Prix on Saturday. The Cupra Kiro driver appeared emotional as he hugged his teammates and celebrated with a champagne shower on the podium. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He has now opened up about why he seemed subdued after the long-awaited win, sharing a heartfelt video in which he expresses his emotions while holding the trophy in one hand, visibly relieved after the race. Dan Ticktum shares his raw emotions following Jakarta triumph Wearing a black T-shirt and khaki shorts, Dan Ticktum looks visibly relieved in the video as he reflects on the victory. Holding the trophy in one hand, he says, 'First win in Formula E, first win for the team in a long time. I've already seen some comments from people saying I was quite subdued after the race. There were a lot of emotions, mainly from the level of adversity and hate I've had to deal with over the last few years — people doubting me — so there was a real sort of sense of f*** you, basically. He continues, 'Proud of myself, proud of the team. It's been a very, very tough three years before this. Now, with the right investors — Forest Road — the deal with Porsche, the deal with Cupra, it's all come together very nicely. I think the rate at which we've improved this year has been pretty remarkable. I'm happy they've stuck by me through the challenges. So yeah, thank you to everyone else for the support as well. I've felt a lot of support this year, and hopefully, we'll end the season well in Berlin and London. But yeah — thank you. A very happy man. I did a thing. I did a thing.' Fans rally behind Dan Ticktum in comments Dan Ticktum's fans showed overwhelming support in the comments section. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now One fan wrote, 'So deserved, showing what not giving up leads to.' Another commented, 'We love you for being authentic.' A third added, 'Vindication. Proud of you and all the team. You did a bloody good thing!' One message read, 'So proud of you @dan_ticktum. Hard work and perseverance paid off. Huge congratulations to you and your team.' Another simply said, 'Well deserved, Dan and team. ' Also Read: Starting from fifth on the grid, the Cupra Kiro driver battled through the pack to take victory, beating the likes of Edoardo Mortara and Nico Mueller. His win pushed him up to fifth in the 2025 Formula E Driver Standings with 80 points.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sex Sells: How OnlyFans Turned Fetish-Friendly Celebs and Porn Stars Into a Multibillion-Dollar Juggernaut That Rivals Legacy Studios
For the same amount of money it takes to buy one of Hollywood's five remaining major studios, some investor may walk away with the nine-year-old porn-friendly platform OnlyFans. While Skydance's bid to buy Paramount in a deal valued at $8 billion continues to spark daily headlines, little-known Hollywood player The Forest Road's efforts to buy OnlyFans for $8 billion is playing out with far less fanfare. That's a stunning juxtaposition considering the Paramount portfolio consists of CBS, Showtime and the 'Godfather' trilogy, while popular content on OnlyFans includes pictures of Carmen Electra's feet and nudes of 'Wizards of Waverly Place' alum Dan Benson. It also signals an economic shift in the entertainment industry. More from Variety Quiver Distribution Buys Bella Thorne Thriller 'Saint Clare' (EXCLUSIVE) OnlyFans Owner Is in Talks to Sell Porn-Friendly Site in Deal Worth $8 Billion 'Spring Breakers 2' Set With New Cast: Bella Thorne, 'Stranger Things' Star Grace Van Dien and More (EXCLUSIVE) 'The name of the game is streaming and online content, and the OnlyFans $8 billion valuation could exceed the price tag of some legacy Hollywood studios, speaking to a new world for the industry where headwinds abound,' says Wall Street analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. But do the numbers add up? Many in Hollywood's private equity space are skeptical that Forest Road, which is led by Zachary Tarica and reportedly manages $127 million in assets, could raise $8 billion. The Century City-based film financier has occupied a niche space in Hollywood since 2017, backing such films as Maggie Gyllenhaal's 'The Kindergarten Teacher' for Netflix and Guy Nattiv's 'Skin' for A24. Few outside the AFM set are familiar with the company and its slate of films, which also includes 'The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre' and 'Chronicle of a Serial Killer.' In 2019, Forest Road invested in Yale Productions, which churned out low-budget movies like the 2023 Uma Thurman-Samuel L. Jackson pairing 'The Kill Room.' Last month, Yale filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $55 million in liabilities against $18 million in assets. And in 2023, former Disney COO Thomas Staggs and onetime TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer stepped down from the Forest Road board. According to the SEC filing, Forest Road 'has expanded its specialty finance platform across blockchain, digital assets, technology, entertainment, real estate, renewable energy tax credit lending, film tax credit administration, and tax credit brokerage.' But a source who has dealings with Forest Road says the company is legit. 'They are very much in touch with BlackRock, Ares and these monster funds,' the source says. 'They would not have any problem raising huge money on a deal like this.' (In October, Forest Road and Ares Management founders David Kaplan and Bennett Rosenthal bought a Formula E team.) Forest Road did not respond to a request for comment on this story. On the seller side, even less is known about Leonid Radvinsky, the 43-year-old majority owner of OnlyFans. The Soviet-born billionaire, who bought a 75% stake in OnlyFans' parent company Fenix International in 2018, has reportedly donated millions to causes involving Ukraine and Israel. (Radvinsky has denied that he pledged $11 million to Israel lobbying group AIPAC.) The father of four, who is partly based in Florida, does not do press. OnlyFans declined comment for this story. While a potential Forest Road-OnlyFans transaction is shrouded in mystery, plenty is known about the parade of random celebrities who have migrated to the platform and how they are monetizing their brands. OnlyFans allows content creators to upload videos to their subscribers and takes 20% of their fees. Initially, the content was mostly explicit, earning OnlyFans a reputation as a purveyor of pornography. Bella Thorne was an early adoptee, making $1 million on her first day on the platform, but faced backlash from the sex worker community, which labeled her a 'tourist.' More recently, a wide range of notable names have joined. 'Harry Potter' alum Jessie Cave, catering to a fetish community, posts videos of and sounds made by her hair. In response to criticism for taking the OnlyFans plunge, Lily Allen wrote in an X post: 'Imagine being an artist and having nearly 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify but earning more money from having 1,000 people subscribe to pictures of your feet. Don't hate the player, hate the game.' Others, like rappers Cardi B and Trey Songz, offer behind-the-scenes content (including adult-oriented material in Songz's case). At one point, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea was among the top earners, but she has mostly left the platform in favor of Telegram. The two biggest areas of growth for OnlyFans come via the comedy world and sports stars. While Whitney Cummings is the most high-profile comedian on the platform, having debuted two specials there, newbies are benefiting most. In 2023, OnlyFans launched the grassroots comedy show 'LMAOF,' which highlighted up-and-coming comedians whose humor might be too risqué for mainstream audiences. Some earnings have been wildly exaggerated. Blac Chyna reportedly pulled down $240 million from OnlyFans, but later said the true number was closer to $2 million. Still, there is real money to be made. On June 11, model Sophie Rain, who is believed to be among the highest paid on the platform, posted a screenshot of her earnings from subscriptions alone since she joined in 2023. The figure was more than $76 million. (An OnlyFans source did not dispute that figure.) 'The Sopranos' star Drea de Matteo says she staved off foreclosure on her Laurel Canyon home by starting a page and posting racy content. 'I got myself out of a lien on my house. I was in foreclosure,' she tells Variety. 'But then the men are fickle and they drop off, and, you know, I'm not like super freaking naked all the time. People know that. Like it's more of a me-and-my-panties vibes. So if you really want to make the big bucks, you gotta go full-on.' Adds de Matteo: 'I was a moderate success. But to be totally honest, I wasn't Bella Thorne. It saved my life, and now I have to think about doing other things because it won't sustain.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OnlyFans could soon be sold for billions of dollars, report says
OnlyFans, a website that's been called the future of sex work, could soon be sold to L.A. investment firm Forest Road Company, according to a report in Reuters, at a valuation of $8 billion. The company, which sells subscriptions enabling parasocial online relationships with celebrities and sex workers, is currently owned by London tech company Fenix International, the sole proprietorship of American internet entrepreneur Leonid Radvinsky, who bought OnlyFans in 2019. Since 2022, he has paid himself $1 billion in dividends. The company has 40 employees. Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that Radvinsky was having difficulty finding a buyer because of OnlyFans' association with porn—which can lead to problems with payment processors, like when Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) cut themselves off from Pornhub in 2020. Pension plans and other investors often don't want to be associated with adult content. There's also the high risk of such sites hosting non-consensual porn, content made by human traffickers, and child sex abuse, as outlined in a 2024 Reuters series. Apple (AAPL) and Google's (GOOGL) app stores won't carry OnlyFans, which exists only as a website. That hasn't stopped its runaway success. Forest Road and OnlyFans did not comment to Reuters, which reported that Fenix is also entertaining other suitors, as well as the idea of an IPO. OnlyFans was founded in Britain in 2016 and exploded in popularity during Covid lockdowns. It's a platform for creators to sell tiered subscriptions offering various levels of access, including pictures and videos. The company takes 20% of earnings; creators keep the rest. In 2023, it brought in $6.6 billion in revenue. That's up considerably from $375 million just five years ago, in 2020, when it became mainstream. The company says it has 300 million subscribers following four million creators. Not all of them are sex workers. Shortly after OnlyFans banned and then reinstated porn in the space of one week in 2021, the company recruited fitness coaches, makeup artists, wellness practitioners, and others in an attempt to broaden its base and make it more respectable. Two teachers in Missouri were caught using it to supplement their income in 2023; one of them resigned. During the 2024 Summer Olympics, some athletes started signing up for the site, and in doing so highlighted the underfunding of amateur sports. Celebrities on the site include singer Lily Allen, who posts pictures of her feet; she says she makes more money from that than she does from music streaming. Sopranos star Drea DeMatteo is also a user, as was, briefly, rapper Cardi B. Forest Road began as an investment firm focusing on tax credits for independent film; its Vertical Entertainment division has had recent critical hits including Emily the Criminal, starring Aubrey Plaza, and Lee, starring Kate Winslet. In 2020, it branched into renewable energy. 'We are not your average investment firm,' reads the large text on the homepage of Forest Road Company. 'We embrace complexity and creativity to extract value where others see limitations.' For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OnlyFans' Ukrainian owner plots £6bn sale of adult site
OnlyFans, the British website that allows people to cash in on adult photos and videos, is in talks to sell itself for $8bn (£6bn) to an investment company connected to former Disney executives. Fenix International, the holding company that owns OnlyFans, is in talks with a consortium led by the Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm that counts former senior Disney executive Kevin Mayer as a board member. Negotiations have been taking place since at least March and it is understood that a deal for the porn, fitness and cooking platform could be signed within two weeks, Reuters reported. A sale would represent a significant windfall for Ukrainian-American porn baron Leonid Radvinsky, who bought OnlyFans for an undisclosed sum from its British founders in 2018. Companies House records list Mr Radvinsky as Fenix's sole shareholder, although the company describes him as its 'majority' owner. OnlyFans positions itself as a broad church of online influencers selling fitness, cooking and lifestyle videos, but is best known for a porn empire of millions of self-employed adult stars. The company was set up by Essex entrepreneur Tim Stokely with financing from his father Guy, a former investment banker. The negotiations come three years after Forest Road previously sought to take over the entertainment website through a so-called blank cheque company that had raised $350m from Wall Street. The shell company was managed by a group of former Disney executives including ex-finance chief Thomas Staggs. Axios reported that it walked away with concerns about OnlyFans' pornographic focus. Forest Road provides financing to the television and film industry, with clients including ITV and Netflix, and owns an indie film distributor. It has also invested in a Formula E racing team and clean power projects. Sources told Reuters that OnlyFans was also in talks with other potential suitors. A stock market flotation is also being considered, sources claimed. However, the adult content on the site is understood to make OnlyFans untouchable for many big banks and investors. The potential payday for Mr Radvinsky, 42, comes on top of £1bn in dividends from OnlyFans he has banked over the past five years. The company has rapidly grown under Mr Radvinsky's ownership. Its revenue rose by 20pc in 2023 to $1.3bn. That was up from $375m in 2020. Mr Radinsky, who was born in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa but moved to the US as a child, keeps a low profile although he is understood to live in Florida. He currently runs a venture capital fund that supports technology start-ups. However, the economics graduate is best known for setting up a string of pornography-related websites, including the streaming website MyFreeCams. That site, where adult models broadcast themselves stripping in exchange for tips from viewers, became one of the most visited sites on the internet. Forest Road declined to comment. OnlyFans was approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
OnlyFans owner in talks to sell to investor group at about $8 billion value
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 $375m 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 US 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 US 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.
