The OnlyFans IPO story is a case study in the gap between financial reality and institutional respectability.

The financial reality: OnlyFans generated $6.6 billion in gross merchandise value in 2023. The platform takes a 20% cut — approximately $1.3 billion in revenue. The company is privately held by Leonid Radvinsky, who acquired it in 2018. It employs very few people relative to its revenue. The margin profile is extraordinary.

The institutional respectability problem: major investment banks have been reluctant to put their names on an OnlyFans prospectus. Not because the business is illegal — it is not — but because the association with adult content creates reputational risk for banks that have other clients, including family offices, pension funds, and conservative institutional investors.

The SPAC route has been explored. A Special Purpose Acquisition Company structure would allow OnlyFans to go public without the traditional IPO process, avoiding the need for a major bank underwriter. This approach has precedent — Playboy went public via SPAC in 2021.

The management has attempted to diversify the platform beyond adult content, adding fitness, music, and other creator categories. The diversification has had limited success — the majority of traffic and revenue remains adult content-driven.

The FreeMalta read: The business is real and the profits are real. The listing path is the problem. If the SPAC route is used, expect a valuation below the fundamental multiple that the business would otherwise support.