Vice Media
The firm represents the official committee of unsecured creditors in the chapter 11 bankruptcy of Vice Media, the global, multi-platform media company focusing on news and culture. According to the filing, the debtor’s rapid growth and resulting financial activity contributed to its liquidity challenges. Vice Media, which was valued at over $5 billion and spans the globe, in June 2023, filed for chapter 11 protection in New York. Promptly thereafter, a New York bankruptcy judge approved $60,000,000 in chapter 11 financing after a deal was struck to allow the unsecured creditors pursue litigation claims and potentially recover $12,000,000 in the debtor’s bankruptcy plan. Under the deal, certain payment clawback and commercial litigation claims that would have been sold with the rest of the company's assets will be given to a litigation trust to pursue on behalf of unsecured creditors. The plan will set aside $500,000 to fund the trust. The lenders also agreed to a recovery "waterfall" under which general unsecured creditors receive $12 million before the lenders recover on the $250 million in first-lien claims they have remaining after their credit bid. Even though the secured creditor would receive only about 50% on the dollar, the firm was able to secure a recovery for the unsecured creditors who were otherwise “out of the money.”
