The company behind the websites Vice and Motherboard has filed for bankruptcy in the US and is set to be sold to a group of its lenders.
Vice Media Group – which was once valued at $5.7bn (£4.5bn) – could be taken over for $225m.
The youth-focused digital publisher said it will continue to operate during the bankruptcy process.
It added that it “expects to emerge as a financially healthy and stronger company in two to three months”.
Launched in 1994 as a fringe magazine called Voice of Montreal by Shane Smith, Gavin McInnes and Suroosh Alvi, Vice currently operates in more than 30 countries.
Its edgy, youth-focused content spans print, events, music, online, TV and feature films.
Vice Media Group’s investors include Fortress Investment Group, Monroe Capital and Soros Fund Management – the firm founded by fund manager and billionaire George Soros.
The hope was that Vice would reap the financial rewards from attracting millions of younger readers through social media networks such…
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