Vice Media Raises $85 Million as Co-Founder Shane Smith Abandons SPAC Talks and Voting Control (Report)
Summary
Vice Media has ended talks to go public with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) for the time being and raised $85 million from existing investors, according to a Tuesday report in The Information. As part of the new deal, co-founder Shane Smith will give up his voting control, the outlet reported. The news comes less than a week after Vice Media engaged in another round of layoffs, letting go of fewer than 20 people who worked in the company’s editorial division. A memo to global staff from chief digital officer Cory Haik, reviewed by TheWrap, heralded the “growth period” of the last two years and focused on the day’s events as a “global editorial alignment.” She praised, among other things, Vice’s YouTube account reaching 14 million subscribers and breaking its all-time monthly view record in May, the 20% increase in American traffic to i-D and traffic to Refinery29’s “Unbothered,” a digital community for Black women, rising by over 40% year over year. After announcing a swatch of promotions, she added, “As part of this continued global alignment we’ve unfortunately had to say goodbye to some of our friends and colleagues today.