An overview of the atmosphere at the VICE Kills TX Music Showcase during the 2013 SXSW Music, Movies + Interactive Festival at Viceland in Austin, Texas on March 16, 2013. (Photo: Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW)
Hutton Supancic | Getty Images
Vice Media announced that Fortress Investment Group’s $225 million bid was the winning bid as the company emerges from bankruptcy.
According to an internal memo obtained by CNBC, Vice received multiple bids for the company, but none “reached a level to be considered a superior bid.”
Minority-owned GoDigital submitted one of the offers, valuing it at $300 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. Fortress wanted more cash in the acquisition and raised concerns about GoDigital’s funding, according to two people familiar with the matter. They asked not to speak publicly because details of the bidding have not been made public.
Fortress led a group of creditors including Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital that took Vice out of bankruptcy and may put the company up for auction this week. Auctions don’t take place without credible bids.
Vice said in the memo that it will file the sale with bankruptcy court on Friday and expects the acquisition to close by then.
The sale marks a new chapter for the digital media company Worth $5.7 billion in 2017. Vice owns a portfolio of properties including Vice News, Vice Studios, Refinery29 and an advertising agency called Virtue.
Spokespeople for Vice, GoDigital and Fortress declined to comment.
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