Craig Barritt/Getty Images for VICE
Vice cofounder and executive chairman Shane Smith (L) and CEO Nancy Dubuc.
- Disney is taking another hit on its stake in Vice.
- The media conglomerate, which has an 11% direct-ownership interest in Vice, wrote down $353 million of its stake in the digital-media company during its second-quarter of 2019.
- This is Disney's second Vice-related write down in the last six months. It wrote down another $157 million of its stake in the September 2018 quarter.
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There's more bad news in Viceland.
The Walt Disney Company disclosed on Wednesday a $353 million write down of its stake in Vice Media, when Disney reported earnings for its second quarter of 2019. This is Disney's second Vice-related write down in less than a year. The company also wrote down $157 million of its Vice investment in the September 2018 period. Disney had an 11% direct ownership interest in Vice, as of its last annual filing in September 2018.
The disclosure comes as Vice raised $250 million in debt in May as it works to make the digital-media outfit profitable, The Wall Street Journal first reported. Vice was last valued at $5.7 billion in 2017, but Disney appears to be valuing it at significantly less.
Vice previously raised around $1.4 billion through several rounds of funding, in addition to the $250 million in debt announced this month. Disney originally invested $400 million in the company in 2015.
Vice is "on target to meet, if not exceed, its financial targets for the third straight quarter," a Vice spokesperson told Business Insider, in response to Disney's write down. "Our new executive team's strategic plan is well underway and with the recent capital raise, we will continue investing in the long-term growth of our five global businesses - television, studio, digital, news and our advertising agency, Virtue."