Billionaire Reuben brothers in talks to invest in consortium circling OnlyFans
David and Simon Reuben in discussions to invest in consortium led by LA investment firm Forest Road
The Reuben brothers, the billionaire property moguls, are in talks to invest in a consortium led by Los Angeles-based investment firm The Forest Road Company that is seeking to take control of porn streamer OnlyFans.
David and Simon Reuben could invest hundreds of millions of dollars via a holding company in a consortium discussing a deal with OnlyFans, the online streaming platform for sex workers, sports stars and celebrities, according to people familiar with the matter.
The family’s business empire was considering backing a special purpose acquisition vehicle set up by Forest Road to take a majority stake in OnlyFans, which could value the business at as much as $7bn, the people added.
The billionaire brothers, whose investments include a minority stake in Premier League football club Newcastle United and Mayfair real estate such as Burlington Arcade, are among at least a dozen parties considering joining the consortium.
The Reuben family is at heart of the British establishment and is among the UK’s richest families.
Their foundation has supported institutions including the British Museum and National Gallery, while Jamie Reuben — David’s son and a principal at the family’s investment firm — is a big Conservative party donor. The younger Reuben has also spearheaded the family’s investment in upmarket hospitality, such as New York’s The Surrey Hotel and the luxury Twenty Two members’ club.
Representatives for the Reuben brothers and OnlyFans declined to comment. Forest Road did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The Reuben family had not yet agreed to the deal, people added, and could decide not to invest. The discussions over a majority stake sale of the business could also collapse entirely or another buyer could emerge. A person close to the Reuben Brothers said that there were no talks for them to take a leading or majority stake in the company.
OnlyFans owner Fenix International, whose sole shareholder is Ukrainian-American billionaire Leonid Radvinsky, earlier this year kicked off a process to sell a large stake in the paid social media platform, which has more than 300mn registered users.
Radvinsky, who bought the company from its UK-based founders Tim and his father Guy Stokely in 2018, will retain a shareholding in the business if a deal materialises.
In 2022, Radvinsky considered taking OnlyFans public via a blank cheque vehicle and at the time held discussions with Forest Road Acquisition Corp II, a Spac convened by Forest Road Company and backed by basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and former Disney executive Kevin Mayer. A blank cheque listing never materialised.
Boutique investment bank Raine was informally advising Forest Road on the efforts to raise equity for the deal, people familiar with the discussions said. Raine, which specialises in US entertainment, sports and tech dealmaking advice, declined to comment.
Fuelled largely by demand for adult content, OnlyFans has soared in popularity in recent years. It takes a 20 per cent cut of the $7.9bn of payments made on its platform, according to annual accounts filed last year, generating $657mn in pre-tax profits for 2023.
OnlyFans rejects that it is a pornography site, pitching itself instead as a paid-for online streaming platform for content makers, sports stars and celebrities, but its association with adult content has stirred controversy. In 2021, the site considered the idea of banning sexually explicit content entirely before reversing course.
Online platforms linked to adult content have historically struggled to gain the same valuation as tech companies, because banks and financial institutions have long shunned services associated with sex work for compliance reasons.
The last big porn site to sell was Pornhub owner MindGeek, which was bought by Canadian private equity group Ethical Capital Partners in 2023.