The Weinstein Co. recently announced that it had filed for bankruptcy. The company, however, may yet be able to reorganize and continue to produce TV shows and films under new ownership. Lantern Capital put in a bid for the same as well.
A statement from the company said, “The Board selected Lantern in part due to Lantern’s commitment to maintain the assets and employees as a going concern. The Company hopes that this orderly sale process under the supervision of the Bankruptcy Court will allow it to maximize the value of the Company’s assets for the benefit of its creditors and other stakeholders.”
As part of an ongoing negotiation with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the company announced that it had released its employees from their non-disclosure agreements as well.
Lantern’s bid offers $310 million in cash as well as an assumption of $114.5 million in liabilities associated with certain TV and film projects, for a total of $424.5 million. The bankruptcy filing also stated that the Weinstein Co. had less than $500,000 cash on hand and that the company had obtained a $25 million debtor-in-possession loan from Union Bank.
The filing also itemizes $345 million in secured debt as well as an additional $148 million in unsecured obligations. Chairman Bob Weinstein is also listed among the unsecured creditors, with an amount of $11.2 million. The production companies belonging to David O. Russell and Bradley Cooper are each owed $941,000. Other unsecured creditors include Wanda Pictures ($14.4 million); Disney ($1.1 million); Sony ($3.7 million); and CAA ($1.5 million); as well as numerous law firms.
