OnlyFans Reportedly Looking To Sell At Massive Valuation

OnlyFans revolutionized paywalled content, particularly for adult stars and social media personalities who wanted to offer mature content safely. But the platform is also known for plenty more than that, from famous chefs to athletes and musicians. 

Now, the London-based company is reportedly eyeing a sale at an eye-popping $8 billion. Who is looking to buy it, and what might it mean for creators and users? 

From Long Shot To Household Name

OnlyFans started in 2016 as a platform meant to help all kinds of creators and influencers monetize their platforms. Timothy Stokely, who had previously ran some smaller adult content-themed sites, co-founded the platform with his brother Tom and the help of a £10,000 loan from his investment banker father. 

In 2021, he told GQ, "But, of course, with all users being over 18, and all content being securely hidden behind a payment wall, that allowed us to have more progressive and liberal content policies than other social media platforms. But, from day one, OnlyFans was launched for all content creators – we never marketed it to any specific industry."

OnlyFans really exploded during the pandemic, thanks in part to growing mentions in popular culture, and also in part to offering sex workers, adult creators, and amateurs a way to continue working in a challenging environment. The platform briefly considered banning adult content in 2021 to appease banks and investors, but reversed course less than a week later.

Stokely actually sold his stake in the company in 2021 and stepped down as CEO, netting himself more than $100 million in the process. 

Who Is Trying To Buy OnlyFans Now?

So who has $8 billion lying around to buy OnlyFans? Well, it's not just one person. According to Reuters, the interested party is actually an investment group led by Los Angeles-based investment firm Forest Road Company. However, Reuters was not able to identify any particular investors in the group. 

According to the Forest Road Company's website, the group focuses on "media & entertainment," "renewable energy," "digital assets," "life sciences," and more. The group also does not rule out an active investing approach, meaning in addition to purchasing companies, they consider taking active roles in adjusting leadership and operations within those companies. 

However, it's important to note that no deal has gone through yet and there are still other options on the table, including an IPO or individual public offering (in other words, becoming publicly traded on the stock market). 

And for some strange reason, investors still can't seem to get over the nature of the content. One financial analyst told CTOL Digital, "Negative working capital, creator-driven acquisition with near-zero CAC, and EBITDA margins exceeding 50 percent; The financial profile is essentially perfect—except for the content." But it's not necessarily a "moral superiority" approach — uncertain regulatory environments could actually threaten much of OnlyFans' core user base. 

What It Would Mean For Creators

Creators have seen a fair share of popular platforms change hands during their time. And while we'd love to say, "Don't worry, nothing will happen!" to anybody utilizing OnlyFans as part of their creator income right now, well...unfortunately, that's not a guarantee any of us can make. 

While many platforms do continue to grow and flourish after being acquired — like Twitch with Amazon and Instagram with Facebook (now Meta) — there are also others that only seem to get worse. Twitter is an obvious example of a platform that has become much less tenable for the average creator since changing ownership. And Microsoft eventually completely shut down Mixer. 

But the main thing to remember here is that OnlyFans makes money. Like, a lot of money. In 2024, the platform had paid out $20 billion to creators already (and remember, the platform takes a 20 percent cut). It appears the biggest questions facing the platform have less to do with financial viability or growth and more to do with regulations and safety. 

That's not to say new owners wouldn't institute some potential changes that could affect the overall experience for both creators and users. Change on these platforms is inevitable. However, it's highly unlikely creators would see any major variations on the overall structure of the platform after an ownership change involving a group of investors. 

That said, if you as a creator are always keeping one eye on your various options, we totally understand. In fact, Stokely recently unveiled Subs.com, a new platform that seems like it may be a direct competitor to OnlyFans. 

We don't see any immediate cause for concern whether OnlyFans sells, goes public, or stays under the same ownership umbrella. But creators will always have options — and we'll continue to keep an eye on what's available.