Online publisher Vice Media will be sold to a consortium led by Fortress Investment Group after the bankruptcy court approved its $350-million bid on Friday.
The investor group, which includes Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, bumped up its offer to $350-million for all of Vice’s assets and some liabilities, from its initial bid of $225-million. The offer is in the form of a credit bid.
Popular with the millennial audience through its websites Vice and Motherboard, Vice Media filed for bankruptcy protection last month in a move that capped years of financial difficulties, top-executive departures and the company’s prior efforts to sell itself.
“We believe (this) represents the best path forward for Vice,” the media company’s co-chief executive officers, Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, said in a statement.
Vice’s lawyer Fred Sosnick said in court the sale would put the company “on a secure footing for the future”. Sosnick said ten proposals were received for the acquisition of the whole company and five for certain parts of the business.
When Vice filed for bankruptcy, it owed $474.6-million to the Fortress-led lender group. Vice borrowed an additional $10-million from those lenders during its bankruptcy proceedings.
Privately held Vice was valued at $5.7-billion at its peak in 2017. Its investors include James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, TPG, Technology Crossover Ventures and Antenna Group.
Internet media publications have lately struggled to grow their ad-dependent revenue as Big Tech platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Alphabet’s Google attracted the bulk of digital advertising spends.
Meanwhile, the ad market had been suppressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, further challenging the business at online publishers.