Vice Media Files For Bankruptcy In US To Facilitate Its Sale After Wave Of Layoffs

Vice Media Group filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, paving way for the sale of the firm amid a weak advertising market. 

The company, which runs websites like Vice, Motherboard and Refinery29, filed the papers at Southern District of New York. 

The company in its filing pegged its assets and liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion. 

The firm said in its statement that the proceedings have been initiated to facilitate the sale of the group. 

Commenting on the development, Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, Vice’s Co-Chief Executive Officers said,  ”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.”

A lender consortium, which includes Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, will provide $225 million in credit bid for all of its assets, the company added in its statement. The consortium will also assume significant liabilities upon closing. 

During the sale process, it can use more than $20 million cash to sustain its operations, for which it has received commitments from the lender consortium.  

Vice had recently announced lay offs in the organisation, with more than 100 employees losing jobs. 

Many media and technology firms have taken steps recently to cut down costs, which have included layoffs, in order to survive amid a slowdown in global growth and advertising revenue.   

Buzzfeed had recently announced the closure of its news division and Paramount Media shuttered MTV News.