- Vice filed for bankruptcy, wiping out stockholders who poured hundreds of millions of dollars into it, including TPG and James Murdoch.
- The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York’s Southern District Court on Monday.
- The company’s filing lists assets and liabilities ranging from $500 million to $1 billion.
Vice Media, a youth media brand co-founded in Montreal by Shane Smith nearly 30 years ago, listed assets and liabilities in the $500 million to $1 billion range Monday and filed for federal bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York. Applied for Chapter 11 of the Act.
The bankruptcy marks yet another phase for the company, which has been plagued by poor management, disputes with owners, sexual harassment allegations, large debts, an ambitious but failed listing plan and a year-plus search for a new owner. It is shown that. Vice’s content is often influential and critically acclaimed, with the company co-winning the Pulitzer Prize for Voice Journalism in 2020, but as it pursued rapid growth under Gonzo chief Smith. struggled to achieve profitability.
The Brooklyn-based global media company has been making minor job cuts for months, laying off about 100 of its roughly 1,500 staff in April. The Wall Street Journal reported Due to the cancellation of the flagship news program “Vice News Tonight” on the cable channel Vice TV. CEO Nancy Dubuck, who was appointed in 2018, stepped down in February and was replaced by two executives, co-CEOs Josefa Lokandwala and Bruce Dixon.
the vise was running multiple sales processes We partnered with various banks, but never got a favorable offer for the owner. The bankruptcy proceedings are expected to be completed within 45 days, according to people familiar with the plan.
The bankruptcy filing reveals how many companies and investors were counting on Smith’s hype about the potential growth trajectory of the TV and online venture. Among the biggest bankruptcy losers is private equity giant TPG, which invested $450 million in 2017.
TPG has also invested in talent agency CAA, Spotify and media outlet Pack. James Murdoch is also a co-investor through his own company Rupa Systems, which acquired its first stake in 2019 and has since participated in multiple funding rounds, including a $135 million round in 2021.
Disney, which poured $400 million into the company in 2015 and held additional stake through A&E, a joint venture between Disney and Hearst, as well as the Fox assets it acquired in 2019, has previously said it would invest in Vice. In 2015, the company recorded two valuation losses, totaling more than JPY200bn. $500 million.
One of Vice’s most successful first 30 years has been credited to co-founder Smith, who made $100 million in the business. According to the semaphore. The 2022 divorce agreement stated that he was earning a salary of $1.6 million as the company’s executive chairman. The court filing did not include the value of his Vice stake, as it was unclear how to set a valuation for the company given the size of the debt and the ongoing sale process.
Insiders have previously reported on a number of vendors, including management consultancy FTI Consulting and technology vendor Wipro, which have sued to recover unpaid fees from Vice, which said the company owed $10 million.
