Vice Media Group Has Filed for Bankruptcy
Vice Media Group has officially filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection to facilitate its sale. This comes amidst a wave of large-scale digital media layoffs.
Founded in 1994, Vice Media Group holds five primary business units: Vice.com, Vice Studios film and TV production unit; Vice TV; Vice News; and creative agency Virtue. The group also oversees Refinery29, Pulse Films, and i-D.
Vice Media has recently made layoffs in its news division, canceling Vice News Tonight. Vice Media’s Global President of News and Entertainment, Jesse Angelo, announced his exit around the same time. Other journalism organizations, such as Buzzfeed, have also recently laid off employees.
I hate seeing the layoffs at IGN, Buzz Feed News, Vice News, and MTV News. Entertainment journalism is officially in turmoil in 2023.
— Gig Patta (@GigPatta) May 9, 2023
Vice Media has been looking for a buyer over year with no success. In February, CEO, Nancy Dubuc, announced her exit after five years with the company. After her departure, executives Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala were appointed as co-CEOs.
The struggling media group filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to facilitate the sale to a group of its top lenders, led by Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management. The filing also includes the companies listed assets and liabilities, which range between $500 million and $1 billion. Vice Media shared in a subsequent statement that the company will be acquired for $225 million, a decline from its $5.7 billion evaluation in 2017.
According to Vice Media, its international entities and Vice TV are not part of the Chapter 11 filing.
Vice came up in an era that rewarded attention, but that model ultimately turned against them.
— Adam Ryan 🤝 (@AdamRy_n) May 12, 2023
Their best work forever changed the face of news.
But a sole focus on the attention economy turns great brands into content aggregators. And torches thousands of jobs along the way.
Vice Media co-CEOs Dixon and Lokhandwala shared in a statement, “This accelerated court-supervised sale process will strengthen the company and position Vice for long-term growth, 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.”
They continued, “We will have new ownership, a simplified capital structure, and the ability to operate without the legacy liabilities that have been burdening our business. We look forward to completing the sale process in the next two to three months and charting a healthy and successful next chapter at Vice.”
To learn more about the situation, Vice Media has launched a website with updates regarding their bankruptcy and reorganization.
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