Soros close to acquiring Vice

Vice Media, a once-iconoclastic media company that had a valuation of $5.7 billion in 2017, is now set to be acquired out of bankruptcy for around $400 million by Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management. The bankruptcy filing is seen as a fitting end to Vice's tumultuous story, as the company rose out of the ashes with its counterculture facade, before quickly becoming woke and losing most of its fans in the process. The company's current valuation is only a fraction of what it was five years ago, and under the proposed reorganization plan, all stockholders, including TPG, Sixth Street Partners, and media tycoon James Murdoch, would be wiped out. The company's largest debtholder, Fortress, will likely end up controlling the company, and Vice co-founder Shane Smith is expected to find another role within the company. However, another buyer could emerge and outbid Vice's lenders for control in a court-supervised sale in Chapter 11 that is expected to begin next week. Some critics have blamed George Soros and his ilk for meddling with Vice after providing the company with $250 million in "debt funding" in 2019, causing it to become unrecognizable and go broke. Overall, this acquisition marks the end of an era for Vice Media and serves as a cautionary tale for media companies that prioritize money over their counterculture roots.