Vice Media Set to Be Acquired Out of Bankruptcy By Fortress-Led Group of Buyers

Caitlin Huston
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A group of buyers led by Fortress Investment Group has been designated the winning bidder in the bankruptcy sale of Vice Media, after pledging $225 million, according to court documents filed Thursday.

A court hearing to approve the bid has been scheduled for Friday in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. If approved, the sale is expected to be completed by July 7. The bankruptcy auction, which had been scheduled Thursday morning, was canceled.

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Fortress Investment Group was an existing lender of the company and had been expected to be a likely buyer of the company, alongside Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital. Vice did not receive any other qualified bids before the deadline, according to the court filings.

Vice Group Holding filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, 2023. At the time, the media company, which includes VICE Studios, VICE TV, Virtue, VICE.com, Refinery29, listed assets and liabilities in the range of more than $500 million to $1 billion.

This comes after Nancy Dubuc stepped down as CEO of Vice Media in February. Dubuc had led Vice since 2018, when she succeeded Vice co-founder Shane Smith. Jesse Angelo, Vice’s global president of news and entertainment, left the company in March.

Amid a tough advertising environment for all media brands, Vice shuttered its flagship TV news show Vice News Tonight in April and laid off more than 100 staff. In early May, the company instituted widespread layoffs at its Vice World News division, closing its APAC offices.

GoDigital Media Group, a conglomerate that began as a digital music distributor and has since bought companies such as YogaWorks out of bankruptcy, said it had submitted an offer that was “significantly more” than the Fortress bid and said GoDigital Media’s plan, which they said would take Vice out of bankruptcy in 12 months, was “the best approach.”

“We remain ready to acquire the company on fair and reasonable terms where all parties come to the table focused on the best benefit of the company,” the company said in a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter.

The New York Times first reported news of the winning bid.

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