Exclusive: Vice Media raises $75M credit facility
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Vice Media has raised $75 million in the form of a credit facility with Western Alliance Bank to support the growth of Vice Studios, its scripted and unscripted production arm, Vice Media executive chair Michael Lang told Axios.
Why it matters: Lang hopes the investment will supercharge Vice Studio's production output, while giving the company more distribution control over its content projects.
- Before Vice Media emerged from a bankruptcy buyout in 2023, it mostly relied on its third-party distribution partners — such as streamers and TV networks — to fund its content slate, limiting its distribution power, Lang said.
Zoom out: Lang, who is also president of a separate media investment company called Lang Media Group, hopes the new money will help Vice Studios jump-start $500 million worth of content projects over the next three to five years.
- Some of that capital will come from the new cash raised, and the rest will come from third-party distribution partners that collaborate on projects Vice can now help fund.
Between the lines: In addition to the credit facility, Vice co-owner Fortress Investment Group is contributing an equity investment to help fund the broader Vice Studios production slate.
- A spokesperson declined to disclose how much Fortress contributed.
- Lang said the commitment from Fortress speaks to the investment firm's belief in Vice Media's new strategy.
State of play: With its own capital, Lang also hopes to be able to produce more content related to the intellectual property Vice Studios already owns.
- Vice Studios' popular series include the U.K. hit "Gangs of London," as well as the streaming and cable documentary feature "Bama Rush."
Catch up quick: Lang was named interim executive chair of Vice Media in 2023 after an investment group led by Fortress bought the company out of bankruptcy.
- A few months later, it unveiled a new creative structure for Vice Studios.
- Vice hired Adam Stotsky, a former NBCUniversal executive, as its new CEO in June. It added Amy Powell, an Amazon veteran, in May.
- In the past few months, the company has been on a deal spree.
- It struck a significant distribution deal with ITV Studios in February.
- It acquired Cuba Pictures — known for producing dramas in the U.K. — from United Talent Agency's Curtis Brown in April.
- It purchased London Alley Entertainment to bolster its commercial production division in March.
What to watch: Leading up to and following its bankruptcy, Vice Media sold or spun out several assets and consolidated departments to streamline its focus on content production and marketing services. Lang hopes the two sides can build synergies.
- The content production side of the business now includes Vice Studios, Vice TV (a cable network joint venture with A&E Networks), and a budding podcast unit that includes a show from Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith.
- The marketing business includes a creative agency called Virtue and a commercial and music video production division is called Vice Commercials and Branded Entertainment.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Vice Media bought Curtis Brown in April (not May).
