Vice Group Holding filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, 2023.
Fortress Investment Group, an American investment management firm based in New York City, led a group of buyers to win the bankruptcy sale of Vice Media after pledging $225m.
Vice owns a series of assets including Vice News, Vice Studios, Refinery29 and an ad agency called Virtue.
A court hearing is scheduled for June 23 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York during which Fortress’s winning $225m bid for Vice is set to be approved.
If approved, the sale is expected to be completed by July 7.
Fortress had been part of a consortium of lenders including Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital that provided financing to Vice in 2019. Vice filed for bankruptcy with a credit bid from the group.
In 2017, the digital media company was valued at $5.7bn.
Nancy Dubuc, CEO of Vice Media, stepped down in February 2023. Other executives also departed, and the company laid off more than 100 employees in April.
