Vice Media Group filed for bankruptcy on Monday following years of financial hardships and will aim for a sale to Soros Fund Management and other groups.
“A consortium of Vice’s lenders which includes Fortress Investment, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital is looking to acquire the company following the filing,” reported NBC Media.
As Breitbart News reported recently, Vice had previously been valued at $5 billion before reports started swirling that it would be filing for bankruptcy. Fortress Investment Group would be the first company to be paid out in a sale since it has senior debt while companies like Disney and Fox, both of which invested in Vice, will not be seeing a return.
In a statement at the time, Vice said that the company has been “engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of strategic alternatives and planning.”
“The company, its board and stakeholders continue to be focused on finding the best path for the company,” it said.
As even the mainstream media has chronicled, Vice has faced a tumultuous set of challenges over the years as it blossomed from a basic punk magazine into a global news outlet with deals at HBO and it
Investor George Soros looks on after having delivered a speech on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, on January 23, 2020, in Davos, eastern Switzerland. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
s own film studio. In 2017, for instance, the company suspended its head of documentaries amid allegations of sexual harassment during the #MeToo heyday.
Former Vice Los Angeles bureau chief Kaj Larsen also was accused of sexual harassment according to a Daily Beast story in which employees alleged there was a “dirty, toxic culture” at Vice.
In 2015, Disney considered buying Vice after investing millions of dollars into the company but the deal never went through.
According to NBC News, the group that buys Vice “will provide $225 million in the form of a credit bid for most of Vice Media’s assets, the company announced on Monday, along with significant liabilities.”
“To facilitate its sale, Vice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. If the application is approved, other parties will be able to bid for the company. Credit bids enable creditors to swap secured debt for company assets rather than pay cash,” it added.
The sale will likely conclude within two to three months and the consortium’s bid will include a $20 million cash commitment so that Vice operations could continue throughout the process.
Vice Co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said that the sale will “strengthen the Company and position VICE for long-term growth.”
“We will have new ownership, a simplified capital structure and the ability to operate without the legacy liabilities that have been burdening our business,” they added.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or VIMEO On Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
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