Talks about Onlyfans sale for 8 billion US dollars
The social platform for predominantly erotic content could be sold – The business model is not without controversy.
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The now highly popular platform Onlyfans could potentially change hands for eight billion US dollars. Onlyfans is a social platform where participants post content to their audience in exchange for money – mostly of an erotic nature. The business was booming during the coronavirus pandemic, but it is not without controversy.
Talks are underway between Fenix International Limited, the London-based operator of Onlyfans, and a group of investors, as reported by the news agency Reuters, citing several anonymous sources. The group is led by the US investment firm Forest Road Company, based in Los Angeles. It specializes in media and renewable energies, among other things.
Talks with other
Fenix International and Forest Road have so far declined to comment on the transaction. According to Reuters, Fenix is also in talks with other interested parties.
Onlyfans was launched back in 2016, but the site became really popular at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, private individuals, including well-known musicians such as CardiB and Aaron Carter, have made a lot of money here by providing their subscribers with pornographic images and videos in exchange for money. Some reported that they quickly reached five to six-figure monthly revenues. Onlyfans' revenue also exploded: while the platform generated revenue of USD 375 million in the 2020 financial year, it had already reached USD 6.6 billion by 2023, writes Reuters.
Interested parties are considering an IPO
Forest Road is also considering an IPO of Onlyfans. As early as 2022, Forest Road management is said to have been part of talks about taking Onlyfans public following a possible takeover. However, according to Reuters, the outcome of the current talks is uncertain.
Many celebrated the social porn platform at the start of the 2020 trend as modern feminism, including academic Madita Oemig from the University of Paderborn. "Because it gives women and queer people the opportunity to control their bodies," she said in an interview on YouTube. They have a great deal of control over what they do there. OnlyFans serves as a digital money-making opportunity for everyone, not just for pornographic content, and "it is also open to all other content", says Oemig. Other voices also praise the simple alternative to model agencies or production companies that Onlyfans offers. However, Oemig also sees risks, such as young people feeling pressured by feedback from the public.
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Onlyfans is controversial
But there are also downsides: There are many known cases of child sexual abuse on Onlyfans. Investigators complain that there is not only a single paywall on Onlyfans to gain access to pornographic material, but that practically every Onlyfans provider sets their own paywall. This makes investigations more difficult and the company is dependent on cooperation with the platform operator. OnlyFans itself plays down the problem and refers to its monitoring.
According to this, the platform reported 347 such cases the year before last, compared to 310 the year before. However, according to the investigators, this is hardly verifiable. For most banks and investors, Onlyfans is therefore a red flag due to its difficult to monitor porn production. In Sweden, Onlyfans is also affected by a new law that criminalizes payment for remote sexual acts.
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