The company, which publishes websites such as Vice, Motherboard, made the filing in the Southern District of New York. A group of creditors, which includes Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, had made a conditional bid for “substantially all of the company’s assets,” Vice said. The lenders had agreed to provide approximately $225 million, and would assume “significant liabilities” upon closing of the deal.
The sale process would allow other parties to submit “higher or better bids” for the company, it added. “This accelerated court-supervised sale process will strengthen the company and position Vice for long-term growth,” said co-chief executive officers Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala. News of the proposed sale comes weeks after the company announced a major restructuring, canceling its popular program “Vice News Tonight” and cutting dozens of jobs.