Rumors are swirling around the subscription-based platform, OnlyFans, these days. While some speculate that the company, which is owned by Fenix International Ltd, will sell to Irish mixed martial artist (and controversial celebrity) Conor McGregor, others think the company will actually go public.
Meanwhile, it seems that Fenix International Ltd is already in talks with an investor group. The porn-forward company is reported to be valued around $8 billion, according to multiple sources. That investor group is said to be led by the Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, the sources said. It also seems that these talks are not exclusive, meaning that the subscription-based platform could be in negotiations with Forest Road as well as with McGregor and others. There doesn’t seem to be a timeline reported yet, as everything is currently speculation.
What isn’t speculative is the explosive growth of the platform over the last few years. Last year the platform hit record numbers, including nearly $8 billion in revenue. That’s massive growth over five years, as in 2019 revenue was closer to $250 million. But it’s easier to hit these astronomical numbers when your user base has grown from less than 15 million users to nearly 400 million.
This rapid growth is what has attracted investors. Back in 2022, some executives from the aforementioned Forest Road were rumored to be a part of a special purpose acquisition company that was interested in taking OnlyFans public in, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
While nothing came of that exploration, signs are pointing to OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky being ready to sell the company now. Radvinsky is a Ukrainian American who bought OnlyFans in 2018 and has paid himself at least $1 billion in dividends over the past three years based on British filings.
In addition to the Forest Road option, it appears that there are other contenders in the running. Talks have been going on since March according to some sources, but they think that a deal could be reached this summer.
OnlyFans and Forest Road declined to comment. What kind of deal? It’s not clear yet.
Because of the nature of the content on OnlyFans (nearly 98% of which is sexually explicit), many big banks and investors do not want to be involved. There have been some investigations into the content platform regarding child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual pornography, and that could be a major liability to any investor.
Yet it seems it isn’t enough to keep Forest Road away, since this seems to be their second time trying to purchase OnlyFans. The group recently purchased a Formula E racing team and expanded its advisory business by acquiring a majority stake in ACF Investment Bank. With a proven interest in media, renewable energy and digital assets, Forest Road may be the best fit for OnlyFans. Unless they are ready to go public. Then it’s a whole new ballgame.