US-based media group Vice Media is reportedly in the process of raising up to $200m in financing. Vice has been previously backed by a number of incumbent corporates from the media sector including entertainment producers 21st Century Fox, A&E Networks, Walt Disney and advertising and public relations company WPP. The funding, expected to come in a mixture of debt and equity financing, may be a down round, reportedly raised at “steep discount” compared to the company´s last known valuation at $5.7bn from 2017. Vice Media had raised over $1.15bn from rounds that have featured corporate backers, as the GCV Analytics chart below illustrates.
Founded originally in 1994 as a media outlet focused on the city of Montreal, Vice has grown into a media and broadcasting group, targeting a millennial demographic. It includes publishing books and a monthly magazine along with a digital media offering, a dedicated newsroom, a film production studio, a record label and a television channel known as Viceland. The latter failed to attract high ratings and the documentary series it was producing for cable network HBO were cancelled. The sought funding is supposed to help Vice reach profitability by early 2020. The news of the funding came a week after the media had to restructure and lay off 250 people across all departments.
