The company listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. AP
The company listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. AP

Vice Media files for bankruptcy as advert business suffers



Vice Media Group, known for popular websites including Vice and Motherboard, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday to engineer its sale to a group of lenders.

The bankruptcy filing for the company, which was once valued at $5.7 billion, is part of the fallout from a challenging period for many technology and media companies that have been cutting costs to survive a weak advertising market amid slowing economic growth.

The company listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion.

Under a credit bid, creditors can swap their secured debt, rather than pay cash, for the company's assets.

The company has received commitments and consent from the lenders to use more than $20 million in cash, which it said will be “more than sufficient” to fund its business through the sale process.

Vice was among a group of fast-rising digital media ventures that once had rich valuations as they courted millennial audiences.

It rose to prominence alongside its co-founder Shane Smith, who built his media empire from a single Canadian magazine.

The company had on April 27 said it would cancel popular TV programme Vice News Tonight as part of a broader restructuring of its news division.

A week before that, BuzzFeed said it would shutter its news division. MTV News also closed down this month.

Reuters contributed to this report

Updated: May 16, 2023, 6:19 AM