Pornhub’s former owner eyes Lukoil’s global assets as sanctions squeeze Russian oil major

Austrian investor Bernd Bergmair — the former majority owner of Pornhub’s parent company — has approached the U.S. Treasury about acquiring Lukoil’s international assets, sources say.

As Europe remains divided over its stance toward Russia, Austrian businessman Bernd Bergmair, former majority owner of the adult-entertainment group behind Pornhub, is wasting no time seizing the moment. He has approached the U.S. Treasury about buying the international assets of sanctioned Russian oil major Lukoil, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The United States imposed sanctions on Lukoil — Russia’s largest privately owned oil producer — as part of its efforts to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Those sanctions have pushed Lukoil to announce plans to sell its foreign assets, prompting multiple potential buyers to seek U.S. approval to engage with the company, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

Through his lawyer, Bergmair declined to specify which assets he is interested in, whether he has already contacted Lukoil, or whether he is acting as part of an investment consortium. “Obviously Lukoil International GmbH would be a great investment and anybody would be fortunate to have the privilege of owning those assets,” he told Reuters, adding that he does not typically comment on potential investments.

The sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Interest in Lukoil’s overseas portfolio has increased since the U.S. Treasury last month granted companies temporary authorization — valid until December 13 — to begin discussions with the Russian company. Any eventual deal would require explicit approval from U.S. authorities.

Lukoil International GmbH, based in Vienna, owns refineries across Europe, stakes in oilfields in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Mexico, and hundreds of retail fuel stations worldwide. The assets are valued at an estimated $22 billion based on 2024 filings.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury declined to comment on whether Bergmair had made contact with the department.

Bergmair, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, became known as the majority owner of MindGeek — the Luxembourg-based operator of Pornhub, RedTube and YouPorn — before selling the company in 2023 to a Canadian private equity firm for an undisclosed sum.