The owner of London-based OnlyFans, the creator platform most of your friends would claim they’ve only “heard of,” is exploring a sale to a US investor group that could value the site around $8 billion, unnamed sources told Reuters and other news outlets.
The site, which gained popularity during the pandemic, has become a media behemoth, racking up 4.1 million creators and 305 million users as of 2023. OnlyFans makes money by taking a 20% cut from those creators’ earnings.
OnlyFans has tried to distance itself from being known as a “porn” platform, but it has also faced multiple claims of hosting sex trafficking and child sexual abuse material on the site. And with that reputation, the company has struggled to court wary investors:
- In 2021, the site banned NSFW content, citing heat from payment processors and banks…but it quickly reversed the decision.
- That same year, the company was seeking investors at a $1 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg.
Big picture: Even with all that baggage, the dollar payout for its owner could be huge. OnlyFans reported a profit of $485.5 million in 2023, a 20% YoY increase. Owner Leonid Radvinsky, a secretive entrepreneur, has received over $1 billion in dividends over the last three fiscal years, according to public data.—MM
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