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OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky has engaged in discussions to sell the massive porn-centric content creator site at a price tag that would value the company at around $8 billion, Variety has confirmed.
Radvinsky is in talks to sell OnlyFans to an investor group led by Forest Road Co., an L.A.-based investment firm that has interests in the media and entertainment biz, at an $8 billion valuation, a source familiar with the situation said, confirming an earlier report by Reuters. The talks with the Forest Road-led group are not exclusive and there’s no timeline for when a deal might be consummated, the source added.
OnlyFans and Forest Road have declined to comment. Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that Radvinsky was seeking to sell OnlyFans for an implied price of between $1.46 billion and $2.42 billion but that he was having trouble finding buyers because of the company’s heavy reliance on pornography.
Forest Road execs were part of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that had been in negotiations to launch an initial public offering for OnlyFans public in 2022. But the source familiar with OnlyFans told Variety the company is not currently contemplating an IPO.
OnlyFans launched in 2016 and soon become a safe haven for porn creators. Radvinsky, a Ukrainian American businessman who also founded cam site MyFreeCams, bought the site in 2018 from founder Tim Stokely. OnlyFans counted 4.12 million creators and more than 300 million registered users as of the end of its 2023 fiscal year.
Top creators on OnlyFans include Cardi B, Bella Thorne, Iggy Azalea, Bhad Bhabie and Mia Khalifa. The company also has embarked on an effort to recruit non-porn creators and in 2021 launched OFTV, a safe-for-work free streaming service with original content.
Radvinsky is the sole shareholder of Fenix International, the London-based company that owns OnlyFans. From 2021-23, Radvinsky collected more than $1 billion in dividend payments from Fenix, according to U.K. regulatory filings.
OnlyFans says it’s one of the safest adult-oriented sites on the internet because it requires an extensive ID verification process before anyone can create an account. In addition, the content isn’t freely accessible: Users must pay a subscription fee or otherwise opt in to view any OnlyFans accounts. Creators earn 80% of all payments made on the platform, according to OnlyFans.
OnlyFans’ gross revenue hit $6.63 billion for the year ended Nov. 30, 2023, up 19% from the year prior, according to a U.K. regulatory filing. That means OnlyFans creators earned total payouts of $5.32 billion for fiscal 2023. Net revenue increased 20%, to $1.31 billion (with two-thirds of that from the U.S.), while the company’s pre-tax profit jumped 25% to $658 million.
Forest Road, meanwhile, has investments across a range of industries, including in media and entertainment. Last year, Forest Road bought ACF Investment Bank, which has facilitated dozens of deals for small and midsize production companies over the past decade. ACF’s deals in 2024 include advising on Toho Co. on its purchase of GKids; North Road’s acquisition of Two One Five Entertainment; and Forest Road’s investment in Range Media Partners.
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