Vice Media is set to be bought out of bankruptcy for $225 million by a cohort of lenders led by its main creditor Fortress Investment Group.
The sale will go to bankruptcy court on Friday and the deal is expected to close then, the group said in an internal memo on Thursday.
“Our lenders, including Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, made a binding offer for the company, which served as a backstop if no other offer was deemed superior to theirs,” reads the statement. the memo.
“Although we received several offers for the company, none of the other offers reached the level of a superior offer.”
The media company’s $225 million price tag, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, is a dramatic reduction from its 2017 valuation of $5.7 billion. The company oversees a number of assets, including Vice News, Vice Studios, Refinery29, and an advertising agency called Virtue.
Vice Media, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, is to be bought out for $225 million. Photos show its headquarters in Venice, California
Bankruptcy filings released in May said Fortress (CEO left) was Vice’s biggest creditor and owed the company about $475 million. Pictured, its CEO Peter L. Briger, Jr. Private media group GoDigital (CEO at right) was hoping to buy it for something between $300 million and $350 million.
Private media group GoDigital was hoping to buy it for something in the region of $300-350 million, Axios reported Wednesday.
GoDigital Media told DailyMail.com in an emailed statement that it made a higher offer for Vice, but the offer was declined by sellers.
“Ours was the best plan,” a company spokesperson said.
“Our offer was significantly superior to the stalking horse offer by the sellers. Our approach included a concrete plan with real and renewed leadership, expertise and investment that would have led to a profitable Vice in less than 12 months,” said he added.
Fortress previously managed US newspaper groups, including Gannett and GateHouse Media.
The decision to sell to Fortress, who he called the “harassing horse bidder”, came after Vice refused to accept higher offers that were not considered “superior”.
A previous bankruptcy meeting originally scheduled for Thursday was canceled as the parties reached an agreement in principle.
“We are submitting the sale for bankruptcy court approval tomorrow and expect the transaction to close on or about Friday, July 7,” the memo read.
Vice’s tentative deal with Fortress comes well ahead of the June 7 deadline, when it was expected to run out of cash it needs to operate.
The agreement once reached, according to Vice, will mark an important step in achieving financial stability.
Shane Smith, 53, was one of the three founders of Vice. He told the Wall Street Journal in 2016 that the company could be worth $50 billion in a few years. The deal announced Thursday values him at just $225 million
At its peak, Vice had 3,000 employees worldwide, with a cable network, two HBO shows and more than a dozen websites.
At its peak, Vice had 3,000 employees worldwide, with a cable network, two HBO shows and more than a dozen websites.
He also ran an advertising agency, film studio, record company and bar in London.
In 2016 it was valued at $5.7 billion and one of its founders, Shane Smith, boasted to the Wall Street Journal that by the end of the decade the company could be worth $50 billion. dollars.
In 2012, shortly before Fox bought a 5% stake in the company, Rupert Murdoch tweeted, “Who ever heard of Vice Media? Wild and interesting effort to engage millennials who don’t read or watch established media. Global success.’
In 2014, the BBC published an article asking if a Canadian’s “big bear” would be the next Rupert Murdoch.
A year later, Disney announced a $400 million investment in Vice ahead of the launch of Viceland, its own television channel.
Bankruptcy filings released in May said Fortress was Vice’s largest creditor and owed the company about $475 million.
