Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The following excerpt was sent out from Variety:

Struggling media company Vice Media Group said on Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 protection to facilitate its sale to a subset of its backers.
The company said in a court filing that it listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion (available at this link). According to Vice Media, substantially all of the company’s international entities and the Vice TV joint venture with A+E Networks are not part of the Chapter 11 filing.
In a statement, Vice said that it had agreed to the terms of an asset-purchase agreement with a consortium of lenders. These include Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital. The consortium agreed to provide total purchase consideration of approximately $225 million in the form of a credit bid for substantially all of the company’s assets, in addition to the assumption of significant liabilities upon closing. In addition, Vice secured commitments for debtor-in-possession financing from the lender consortium, as well as consent to use more than $20 million of cash that constitutes the cash collateral of the lender consortium. Vice once carried a $5.7 billion valuation back in 2017.
The lenders will serve as “stalking horse” bidders, which means that other potential buyers will have an opportunity to submit bids. The winning bid (or bids) will be subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.
Here is an internal memo sent to Vice employees by Morgan Hertzan, president global TV.
As you are aware, over the last several months, our Board and management team have been evaluating a range of strategic options with the ultimate goals of improving our financial health and protecting the long-term viability of VICE. As part of that effort, today we announced that VICE has entered into an agreement with our lenders, including Fortress, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, under which VICE will be acquired by these investment companies. This agreement positions us to achieve those goals and ensure that VICE will continue to produce and support the ground-breaking journalism and content creation with which we have become synonymous.
To facilitate this transaction, we have commenced a court-supervised sale process under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The lenders will serve as “stalking horse” bidders, which means that other potential buyers will have an opportunity to submit bids. The winning bid or bids will be subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court.
Throughout the process, VICE’s operations will continue in the ordinary course of business, as we work with valued partners like you to produce and deliver award-winning content across platforms. There are two additional, important points we want to share today:
We have sufficient liquidity to support our continuing operations. VICE has obtained commitments for debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing from the Lender Consortium, as well as consent to use more than $20 million of cash that constitutes the cash collateral of the Lender Consortium. VICE anticipates that this financing, as well as the cash generated from ongoing operations, will be more than sufficient to fund its business throughout the sale process.
We intend to complete the sale process as quickly as possible, likely in the next two-three months. We will keep you apprised of the timeline, but we fully expect a prompt completion of the sale and emergence from bankruptcy.
This agreement is a positive step forward for our business. We are proud to partner with you as we continue to our large global audience with a unique brand of news, entertainment and lifestyle content, and we look forward to continuing our partnership well into the future. Thank you for your continued support.