The online publisher that defined the two thousand years gave up after several years of struggle.
It has seen better days Vice his publisher, Vice Media, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday morning after years of struggling with financial problems. The publisher’s portfolio included such emblematic publications as Vice, Motherboard or Refinery29.
The bankruptcy proceedings were initiated after months of searching for buyers. Vice Media also announced that the publisher will be acquired by a consortium of investors including Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital.
They have now paid $225 million for the company, which clearly shows how bad their hay is, considering that the portfolio was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017. Vice Media has indicated that its international companies, including Vice TV, will not be part of the bankruptcy sale.
The aforementioned consortium will also take over a significant amount of debt from Vice Media, but the transaction is not set in stone yet, as a higher offer may still be received for the company. Vice Media – unlike the also bankrupt BuzzFeed News – wants to continue publishing even after the arrival of new owners.
Vice Media’s two executives, Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, believe that the acquisition can be completed in the next 2-3 months. The company has currently received a capital injection of approximately twenty million dollars from the members of the consortium, so that they can finance their operations during the transition period.
