Vice Media has finalised its sale to a group of buyers including Fortress Investment Group after a deal of paying out $ 222 million to the bankrupt company, reported Reuters based on a legal filing.
Company’s auction on Thursday was cancelled and its officials are set to appear for a hearing related to the selling of the company. The hearing to approve the sale of Vice Media was scheduled to be held on Friday, according to a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan on Thursday.
Vice Media filed for bankruptcy last month
Vice Media enjoys a vast young audience across the globe through its websites Vice and Motherboard. The company filed for bankruptcy protection last month in a move that capped years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures.
Vice disclosed that lenders led by Fortress offered about $225 million in the form of a credit bid. The amount was offered for almost all of the company’s assets and some of its liabilities.
GoDigital made a higher bid, but Vice sellers turned down the offer
GoDigital Media had offered a higher bid for Vice, but their offer was turned down by the sellers, Reuters found.
“We think Fortress’s decision is the wrong choice, and the company, employees, partners, and consumers will suffer,” GoDigital said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The Vice value reached its peak in 2017 when the company’s valuation rose to $5.7 billion at its peak in 2017. The company received a major chunk of investment from James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, TPG, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Antenna Group.
Possible reasons for the downfall of Vice Media
One of the prime reasons that led to the downfall of Vice Media is the skewed ad-revenue system which sees the dominance of big tech platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Alphabet’s Google. Internet media publications have suffered majorly to grow their ad-dependent revenue. On the other hand, big firms like Facebook and Insta have become an attractive option for digital advertisers. The ad market was also hit hard due to the COVID pandemic, which posed a challenge for the publishers.
