Global Courant 2023-05-15 13:36:52
Vice Media offices display the Vice logo in Venice, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Once a darling of digital media, Vice Media Group filed for bankruptcy protection Monday after years of financial trouble.
A consortium of Vice’s backers, including Fortress Investment, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, wants to acquire the company following the filing.
The digital media pioneer, once valued at $5.7 billion and known for sites like Vice and Motherboard, has been restructuring and cutting jobs in its global news business in recent months.
The group seeking to buy the company will provide $225 million in the form of a credit offer for most of Vice Media’s assets, the company announced Monday, along with significant liabilities.
Vice is one of many digital media and technology companies forced to restructure this year amid a sluggish economy and weak advertising market. Buzzfeed closed its news division last month and announced significant layoffs.
Vice launched in Canada in 1994 as a fringe magazine and expanded around the world with youth-oriented content and a prominent social media presence. However, it endured several years of financial trouble, as tech giants like Google And meta sucked up global ad spend.
To facilitate the sale, Vice has 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 can bid for the company. Credit offers allow creditors to exchange secured debt for business assets instead of paying in cash.
The consortium’s offer includes a $20 million cash commitment to continue Vice’s operations through the sale process. It is expected to be completed within two to three months, the company said.
Vice said its various multi-platform media brands, including Vice News, Vice TV, Pulse Films, Virtue, Refinery29 and iD, will continue to operate, while its international entities and Vice TV’s joint venture with A&E are not part of the Chapter 11 filing. .
Vice co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said in a statement that the sale process “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 old obligations that have burdened our company,” they added.
