OnlyFans, the platform primarily used for sharing paid pornographic content, could soon reach a valuation exceeding $3 billion.
Founded in 2016 and based in London, OnlyFans is indeed in talks with the US fund Architect Capital for the sale of a stake of less than 20 percent. The majority shareholder Leonid Radvinsky, who owned 75 percent of the shares, died last March: he was forty-three years old and had been ill with cancer for some time.
HOW ONLYFANS IS DOING
According to sources from the Financial Times, the deal between OnlyFans and Architect is expected to close as early as next month. The agreement could also lead to further share sales in the future: the platform has been trying to attract foreign investors for years.
Beyond any ethical considerations, OnlyFans is a very profitable business: last year it generated revenues of $7.2 billion and the company managing the service paid out dividends of over $700 million, a record amount.
WHAT WILL CHANGE, AND WHAT WON’T, AFTER THE AGREEMENT WITH ARCHITECT CAPITAL
The sale of a minority stake to Architect will not change the ownership of OnlyFans, which remains in the hands of Radvinsky’s family fund, managed by his widow Katie. Leonid Radvinsky had acquired 75 percent of OnlyFans’ parent company, Fenix International, in 2018.
According to the Financial Times, it seems that OnlyFans aimed for an even higher valuation, above $5 billion, to be reached through the sale of a majority stake also to Architect, but that option was abandoned. Other investment funds had shown interest in the platform, such as the American Forest Road, supported by British billionaires David and Simon Reuben.
The agreement with Architect is expected to allow OnlyFans to develop new financial services and products for content creators, who sometimes have difficulty accessing traditional banking systems.
