Fortress Investment Group just threw Vice Media a multimillion dollar lifeline as the media company continues to drown in a boatload of debt, according to the Wall Street Journal.
On Tuesday, Vice Media secured more than $30 million in debt financing from Fortress Investment Group. The money comes as Vice owes vendors and advisers millions, with some of the entities not having been paid in more than six months, the Journal reporting, citing anonymous sources. This has led to vendors passing the issue onto collection agencies to get their money back.
This isn’t the first time Fortress has come through financially for Vice Media. In 2019, the firm lent the media company $250 million, along with investors Soros Fund Management LLC, 23 Capital and Monroe Capital. Fortress is also one of the companies that is expected to receive payments if Vice is sold — a mission Vice is working toward after years of battling debt.
As part of their arrangement, Fortress has extended the maturity on an existing loan that needed to be paid by Vice by the end of 2022. In the meantime, Fortress will let Vice tap some of the new debt over time in order for the company to eventually find a buyer.
One of the Vice’s potential buyers could be Greek broadcaster Antenna Group. In 2017, Vice was valued at $5.7 billion but is now seeking a $1.5 billion valuation.
