![]() ![]() ![]() Vice is doing the same thing, but with video. My first instinct when dealing with something might be to think about how a newsletter can help solve it. You can also tell a lot about a media team by what tools they pull out of their toolbox. You can tell a lot about a team by how it deals with adversity. While TPG and others have invested over $85 million in fresh capital, the clock is ticking. This leaves Vice in a very precarious position. If it could make the deal happen, TPG and all its investors would convert from their special shares that guaranteed certain returns to common shares.Īlas, with the company still not being profitable, growth slowing, and a valuation more inflated than a pool toy, it should come as no surprise that the deal fell apart. That’s why all the recent SPAC activity was a possible saving grace for the company. But when the market for media companies disappeared over the past few years, Vice was left dealing with a scenario it had not expected to worry about. Vice-and specifically, co-founder Shane Smith-made a bet that it would be acquired or go public before those difficult terms came due. That gave Vice some breathing room, but the new arrangement could leave TPG as the largest outside shareholder and dilute other investors. Last year Vice Media renegotiated terms with TPG, which agreed to adjust the payments to favor stock over cash, people familiar with the situation say. Under the terms of the initial deal, Vice anticipated making payments worth up to nearly $400 million to TPG in stock and cash dividends between 20, starting last month, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Vice agreed to guarantee TPG substantial payouts down the road. According to a WSJ story from March 2020: When Vice last raised a $450 million round in 2017, valuing the business at $5.7 billion, it made certain promises to TPG, its biggest investor. “Hoping to raise money by going public” is being very kind to Vice. Vice raised money at a $5.7 billion valuation in 2017, but it has fallen significantly since then. The valuation of the latest round couldn’t be learned. ![]() The media firm had been hoping to raise money by going public through a merger with a SPAC backed by 7GC & Co., but a slowdown in the once-hot SPAC market has ended those discussions for now, one of the people said. The existing investors, which include James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, TPG, TCV and Sixth Street Partners, agreed to invest in Vice to help it get to profitability. As part of the fundraising, Vice’s co-founder, Shane Smith, has agreed to give up his voting control, said the people. Vice Media is raising over $85 million in fresh capital from existing investors, as talks to go public via a special purpose acquisition company have ended for now, according to people familiar with the situation. VICE Distribution launched in Summer 2020 and has a catalogue of over 1000 hours of programming created across VICE Media Group.In what can only be described as déjà vu, news came out while I was off that the deal Vice had been working on to go public through a SPAC had been called off. It is already available on Pluto TV, Discovery+, SBS Australia, Hulu and All 4. Today it announced a new presence on Roku with a so-called Fast Channel. The Vice channel left Sky at the end of April, but it recent weeks it has announced deals with streaming platforms. Vice Media includes a number of businesses including an ad agency and its film and TV production arms. Vice is valued at $3 billion, close to halve the $5.7 billion at the time of TPG’s $450 million investment in 2017. ![]() TPG owns preferred stock, meaning it would receive additional equity if performance targets failed to be met.Ī SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company) bypasses the traditional IPO process through the acquisition of a shell company already listed on the stock exchange. The move comes alongside a move away from its short-lived linear broadcasts in favour of streaming services.īlank check firm 7GC & Co Holdings is preparing to meet institutional investors to begin the scheme that would leave TPG, alongside Disney, A&E Networks, merchant bank Raine Group and founder Shane Smith with around 75% of the new company. Vice Media group is preparing to go public with a so-called ‘blank check’ merger that would free it of the financial obligations it holds with the private equity firm TPG. ![]()
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