Trail-blazing youth brand Vice Media has formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The move is part of a plan to engineer a sale to a group of lenders, according to Reuters.
As expected, the company’s biggest creditor, Fortress Investment Group, will make up part of the new ownership.
Alongside Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, Fortress will invest around $225M as a credit bid for almost all of the company’s assets, Reuters reported. The trio will also assume significant liabilities at closing.
The company, which was valued at $5.7B in 2017, began considering the move after struggling to find a buyer.
That came after a tumultuous start to the year for the company, which saw Nancy Dubuc exit after five years, replaced by Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, and the departure of Global President of News & Entertainment Jesse Angelo to launch his own production company. Vice has been struggling with its finances for several years.
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