NEW YORK (AP) — Vice Media is submitting for Chapter 11 chapter safety, the newest digital media firm to falter after a meteoric rise.
Vice mentioned Monday that it has agreed to promote its property to a consortium of lenders — Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital — in alternate for $225 million in credit score. Other events will even be capable of submit bids.
The chapter submitting arrives simply weeks after the corporate introduced it could cancel its flagship “Vice News Tonight” program amid a wave of layoffs — which was anticipated to affect greater than 100 staff within the firm’s 1,500-person workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm additionally mentioned it could finish its Vice World News model, making Vice News its solely model worldwide.
Monday’s submitting comes amid a wave of media layoffs and closures — together with job cuts at Gannett, NPR, the Washington Post and extra over latest months. In April, BuzzFeed Inc. introduced that its Pulitzer Prize-winning digital media outlet BuzzFeed News was being shut down as a part of a cost-cutting drive by its company mother or father.
Digital promoting has plummeted this 12 months, chopping into the profitability of main tech corporations from Google to Facebook.
Vice Media’s roots date again to 1994, with the launch of Vice’s authentic punk journal in Montreal. Vice quickly moved to New York and constructed itself into a world media firm.
Over the years, Vice developed a repute for in-your-face journalism that coated daring tales around the globe. The media firm’s property additionally consists of movie and TV manufacturing, an in-house advertising company, and types comparable to Refinery 29 and Unbothered.
The media firm has struggled to show round earnings lately. Amid its monetary crunch, Vice secured $30 million in debt financing from Fortress Investment Group in February, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In 2017, Vice was valued at $5.7 billion. Now, nonetheless, most specialists estimate the corporate is value only a fraction of that, The New York Times reported earlier this month.
Vice co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala mentioned the sale course of will strengthen the corporate and place it for long-term development, “thereby safeguarding the kind of authentic journalism and content creation that makes VICE such a trusted brand for young people and such a valued partner to brands, agencies and platforms.”
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com