The Former Owner of Pornhub Wants to Buy Lukoil’s Overseas Assets

Austrian entrepreneur Bernd Bergmair, formerly the majority owner of MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, has approached the US Treasury with a proposal to acquire foreign assets belonging to the Russian oil and gas group Lukoil, reports Reuters, citing its own sources.

The businessman’s lawyer told the agency: “Obviously, Lukoil International GmbH is an excellent investment, and anyone would be pleased to own these assets.” He declined to specify which assets had drawn Bergmair’s interest or whether he had discussed a potential deal directly with the Russian company or was acting on behalf of an investment consortium.

In the 1990s, Bergmair worked at Goldman Sachs before shifting his focus to private investments. He became the largest shareholder of MindGeek, the Luxembourg-based owner of Pornhub, RedTube and YouPorn. In 2023, the company was taken over by a Canadian private investor. In 2021, The Sunday Times estimated Bergmair’s net worth at £1.2bn ($1.6bn).

Lukoil began seeking buyers for its overseas assets after the United States imposed sanctions in November. Among the potential bidders, Reuters lists Exxon Mobil and Chevron.