OnlyFans founder’s death leaves investment firm – Business News
A Silicon Valley investment firm is struggling to seek out backers for its bid to accumulate OnlyFans following the death of the porn web site’s reclusive proprietor, The Post has realized.
Architect Capital – a San Francisco-based investment firm identified for controversial bets together with the Juul Labs vaping model – has been angling to buy a 60% stake in OnlyFans with the help of New York investment bank Moelis & Co., The Post completely reported final month.
Terms of the possible deal – which have been mentioned earlier than OnlyFans proprietor Leonid Radvinsky’s death from most cancers at age 43 reported this week – worth the money-minting smut platform at $3.5 billion, based on sources close to the scenario.
OnlyFans proprietor Leonid Radvinsky died from most cancers at age 43. Leonid Radvinsky/Facebook
On the face of it, that appears like a rock- backside price given the money cranked out by OnlyFans. For the fiscal 12 months ended Nov. 30, 2024, OnlyFans had $666 million in working revenue on $1.4 billion in income, based on UK company filings.
The key drawback: Prospective consumers fear that OnlyFans, regardless of its eye-popping income, may by no means be taken public. In addition to investing pointers that stop many funds from plowing into porn, OnlyFans has confronted banking issues as a result of of its area of interest, insiders say.
“They are still trying to round up the money and people are thinking through long term exit issues,” a source close to the talks stated.
“The company had been struggling to find a buyer largely because of the porn stigma. But it has incredible financials that are very attractive,” one of the sources advised The Post final month.
OnlyFans, Moelis and Architect didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
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Last 12 months, Visa started implementing stricter chargeback and fraud requirements that slammed OnlyFans. X-rated websites additionally face greater transaction charges – typically 5% to 10% versus 2% to three% for conventional e-commerce, based on a report this 12 months by funds processor Myntpay.
In current months, insiders say OnlyFans has thought-about addressing its long-running banking woes with plans to buy or companion with a financial technology company, sources say.
Payments firms reminiscent of CCBill and Segpay have served the smut panorama for years. More lately, nevertheless, startups have touted utilizing crypto technology to take away friction in grownup content material banking and funds.
New York investment bank Moelis & Co. was tapped to help broker a deal. Bloomberg by way of Getty Images
Radvinsky made $7.4 billion by taking porn to the mainstream and serving to people post their most intimate moments on the web for money.
OnlyFans enriched a quantity of creators, who mourned the founder’s passing.
They included Sophie Rain — an grownup star who earned a mind-boggling $95 million on OnlyFans between 2023 and 2025.
“I don’t even know how to put this into words. That man built something that changed my entire life. Like, I grew up on food stamps and now I can take care of my whole family because of a platform he created. I will never forget that,” she advised The Post.
Piper Rockelle, one other prime earner on OnlyFans, stated she was “still processing” Radvinsky’s death.
“I’ve only been on the platform since January but it already changed everything for me,” she stated.
