The Weinstein Company Has Declared Bankruptcy
Hit your Wheel of Fortune bankrupt whistle and your Price is Right losing horn, because The Weinstein Company has officially declared bankruptcy. According to Variety, TWC filed for Chapter 11 yesterday. If you work at Harvey Weinstein’s Arizona rehab, maybe go track him down in whatever hammock he’s taking his post-waffles nap in (sorry – self-reflective rehabilitation moment) and let him know.
There’s been a lot of back and forth regarding the sale of TWC ever since it began to crumble under the revelations that Harvey allegedly sexually harassed/assaulted everyone. Bob Weinstein wanted to sell, but it looked like they would have to declare bankruptcy. Then they reportedly found a buyer who to turn it into a female-driven company. Maria Contreras-Sweet and Ron Burkle had reportedly put in an offer for $500 million, but Variety says that deal fell through. Lantern Capital put in a $424.5 million bid to take over post-bankruptcy, which would see them pay $310 million in cash for the company and assume $114.5 million in liabilities.
Variety has a partial breakdown of who The Weinstein Company owes with their $493 million in secured and unsecured debt. I didn’t see an outstanding debt to a company called Big & Tall Bathrobes, so I’ll just have to assume that’s somewhere in the tens of millions. But Bob Weinstein is listed as an unsecured creditor for $11.2 million, CAA is owed $1.5 million, and production companies belonging to David O. Russell and Bradley Cooper are both owed almost $1 million each.
The Weinstein Company released a statement and confirmed their deal with Lantern Capital, saying they went with them based partly in their commitment to maintaining the company’s assets and employees. Also, effective immediately, TWC announced that all employees have been released from their non-disclosure agreements.
“No one should be afraid to speak out or coerced to stay quiet. The Company thanks the courageous individuals who have already come forward. Your voices have inspired a movement for change across the country and around the world.”
It’s not known how much money will be going to compensate Harvey Weinstein’s victims. Variety says that insurance was expected to cover up to $30 million. The Contreras-Sweet/Burkle deal reportedly planned to bring that number up to $90 million.
Harvey Weinstein loves releasing denial statements. He might want to grab a pen and a couple napkins from the swim-up bar and start working on one long, non-specific catch-all denial immediately. Now that there’s no enforceable NDAs in place, there’s about to be a new season’s worth of Tales of TWC Terror on the horizon.
Pic: Wenn.com