Vice Media set for $225m sale to lenders
June 23, 2023
A group of Vice’s lenders led by Fortress Investment Group looks set to take over Vice Media after the consortium’s $225 million (€206.9m) offer for the bankrupt company emerged as the only ‘qualified’ bid, according to a legal filing.
An auction scheduled for June 22nd was cancelled and a hearing to approve the sale of the company was scheduled for today (June 23rd), according to a filing with the US bankruptcy court in Manhattan.
US media group GoDigital reportedly made a $300 million offer for Vice Media which was turned down by the sellers. A spokesperson for the failed bidder told CNBC: “Our offer was significantly more than the stalking horse bid by the sellers. The sellers chose to turn down this opportunity even though it was a bid higher than their own.”
Vice Media formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York in May. In 2017, Vice Media was valued at $5.7 billion and enjoyed financial support from the likes of Disney and Fox.