Vice Media on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the most recent digital media company to falter after a meteoric rise.
A consortium of lenders B次元官网网址� Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital B次元官网网址� is buying Vice for about $225 million, in addition to taking on a significant amount of the companyB次元官网网址檚 debt. Other parties will be able to submit bids as well.
Vice said it expects the sale to be wrapped up in the next two to three months. It said that during the process its media brands will continue to produce content and the company will keep paying its employees and vendors.
In a prepared statement, Vice co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said the B次元官网网址渁ccelerated court-supervised sale processB次元官网网址� will strengthen the company and position it for long-term growth, B次元官网网址渢hereby 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.B次元官网网址�
Vice assets and liabilities are worth between $500 million and $1 billion, according to MondayB次元官网网址檚 filing.
The bankruptcy filing arrives just weeks after the company announced it would cancel its flagship B次元官网网址淰ice B次元官网网址 TonightB次元官网网址� program amid a wave of layoffs expected to impact more than 100 of the companyB次元官网网址檚 1,500-person workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company also said it would end its Vice World B次元官网网址 brand.
There has been a wider surge of media layoffs and closures, including job cuts at Gannett, NPR, the Washington Post and other organizations. In April, BuzzFeed Inc. announced that its Pulitzer Prize winning digital media outlet BuzzFeed B次元官网网址 was being shut down as part of a cost-cutting drive by its corporate parent.
Digital advertising has plummeted this year, cutting into the profitability of major tech companies from Google to Facebook.
B次元官网网址淎dvertising is down across the board, so itB次元官网网址檚 a test for a lot of the digital publications,B次元官网网址� Megan Duncan, assistant professor at Virginia TechB次元官网网址檚 School of Communication, told The Associated Press.
Duncan and others also noted the changing landscape of social media B次元官网网址� a space where outlets like Vice once thrived in terms of reaching audiences.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the things that I think really hurt Vice, and in turn BuzzFeed as well, is social media networks like Facebook changing their algorithms,B次元官网网址� Jason Mollica, professor at American UniversityB次元官网网址檚 School of Communication, said. B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e not pulling in the numbers that you would expect advertising-wise, youB次元官网网址檙e losing money.B次元官网网址�
Beyond advertising and the shifting digital landscape, Mollica and Duncan also pointed to the changing habits of news consumers today B次元官网网址� and challenges media companies across the industry face as they try to reach audiences.
B次元官网网址淲ith such a focus on youth, it can be really difficult to keep being youth-oriented B次元官网网址� and change your brand and your appeal for the next generation,B次元官网网址� Duncan said.
Duncan also noted that Vice has relied on different rounds of funding and investors throughout the companyB次元官网网址檚 history and B次元官网网址渘ever really found the business model in its most recent, modern digital age that was going to sustain it.B次元官网网址� Beyond all of this, the company has its own B次元官网网址渃omplicated historyB次元官网网址� with troubles in leadership and employment, she added.
Vice MediaB次元官网网址檚 roots date back to 1994, with the launch of ViceB次元官网网址檚 original punk magazine in Montreal. Vice soon moved to New York and built itself into a global media company.
Over the years, Vice developed a reputation for in-your-face journalism that covered daring stories around the world that particularly resonated with new, young audiences across digital platforms. The media companyB次元官网网址檚 assets also include film and TV production, an in-house marketing agency, and brands such as Refinery 29 and Unbothered.
The media company has struggled to turn around profits in recent years. MondayB次元官网网址檚 filings show that Vice has total outstanding debt of $834 million.
In 2017, Vice was valued at $5.7 billion. Now, however, most experts estimate the company is worth just a fraction of that, The New York Times reported earlier this month.
MondayB次元官网网址檚 bankruptcy filing arrives just months after Nancy Dubuc announced that she would be stepping down as CEO of the company. Vice named longtime Vice executives Dixon and Lokhandwala as co-CEOs.
Dubuc replaced Vice co-founder Shane Smith in 2018, a turbulent time at Vice after a 2017 Times investigation uncovered rampant sexual harrassment and misconduct at the company.
By Associated Press
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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