OnlyFans tops $3bn valuation in talks to sell minority stake

OnlyFans, the UK adult video platform, is in talks to sell a minority stake that will value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).

Despite the platform’s financial success, generating $7.2bn of revenues in 2024, the stigma of pornography, risk of reputational damage and investment guidelines have hindered efforts to attract external investment over several years over several years.

According to the Financial Times, plans to sell a 20% stake to the US fund Architect Capital have accelerated since the death last month of billionaire owner Leonid Radvinsky. His widow, Katie Chudnovsky, will maintain control of the company through a family trust.

The decision builds credibility “at a delicate moment in its ownership”, according to researchers at the University of Leeds. Vita Kadile, Maximilian Gerrath and Alessandro Biraglia note the sale is “less like a transformation and more like an attempt to formalise and de-risk a highly profitable but structurally complex business”.

OnlyFans, founded in 2016, boomed during the pandemic. Its registered creators surged from 1.6m in 2020 to around 4.63m today, according to Statista, drawing users – or “fans” – totalling 13.5m in 2019 and more than 377m in 2024. OnlyFans was once celebrated for “empowering”  female creators, but its reputation has been damaged because creators tend to see returns of as little as $131 a month. The platform has undoubtedly reshaped porn, leaving Pornhub and other sites lagging behind.

The subscription site is not the usual fare for Architect, whose founder James Sagan is better known for working with companies in crisis. That said, Gail Dines, chief executive of Culture Reframed, a non-profit that addresses the negative effects of porn on young people, says OnlyFans is grappling with a “legitimacy crisis”, as it faces threats of debanking and regulatory scrutiny.

Architect “aren’t just providing capital. They are providing a reputational shield,” Dines says.

The growth of OnlyFans, she argues, could be tested by legislation. The “wild west” of the porn industry is being squeezed by age verification legislation such as the UK’s Online Safety Act. If firms are found not to comply, Dines predicts “we could bankrupt the industry in no time. That's what [the platforms and investors] are scared of”.

Photographs by Getty Images, rarecancer.org, leonidravinsky/Facebook