On March 6, 2018, the acquisition deal collapsed again after the studio had an extra debt of US$50 million revealed.
(meta data) TITLE: Planned Sale of the Weinstein Company Collapses Again - The New York Times (meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.nytimes.com/by/brooks-barnes 42 captures 07 Mar 2018 - 07 Oct 2022 About this capture COLLECTED BY Organization: Internet Archive Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. Collection: global.nytimes.com The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20180321002021/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/business/media/weinstein-company-sale.html NYTimes.com no longer supports Internet Explorer 9 or earlier. Please upgrade your browser. LEARN MORE » ## The New York Times ###### Media|Planned Sale of the Weinstein Company Collapses Again ### Media # Planned Sale of the Weinstein Company Collapses Again Maria Contreras-Sweet, the leader of the investor group that agreed to a deal for most of the Weinstein Company's assets, said the buyers had received "disappointing information" that led them to terminate the deal. Earl Wilson/The New York Times LOS ANGELES — The planned sale of the Weinstein Company collapsed yet again on Tuesday, when the investor group that had agreed to purchase the embattled studio said that it had called off the deal after receiving "disappointing information." The investor group, led by Maria Contreras-Sweet, who ran the Small Business Administration under President Barack Obama, and the Weinstein Company's board announced last week that an agreement to buy most of the assets of the near-bankrupt studio had finally been reached. The deal called for the group to pay off the Weinstein Company's debt, which it believed totaled around $225 million. In return, the group would receive the majority of the studio's assets, which include "Project Runway" and a 277-film library. But once the buyers began looking deeper into the Weinstein Company's finances, they discovered that it had more debt than they had been led to believe, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information. Additional liabilities totaling between $55 million and $65 million were discovered, including $27 million in unpaid residuals and profit participation; and $20 million in accounts payable. The Weinstein Company's board said in a statement that it was "disappointed" by the investors' decision to pull out of the agreement. "The investors' excuse that they learned new information about the company's financial condition is just that — an excuse," the board said. "The company has been transparent about its dire financial condition." The board vowed that it would not stop trying to find a way to avoid bankruptcy. "We will continue to work tirelessly — as we have for months — to determine if there are any viable options," it said. Ms. Contreras-Sweet declined to discuss the decision beyond a statement issued by the investor group, which included the billionaire Ron Burkle, who has a long history with the Weinstein Company, and Lantern Capital, a Texas private-equity firm. "I believe that our vision to create a women-led film studio is still the correct course of action," Ms. Contreras-Sweet said in the statement. "To that end, we will consider acquiring assets that may become available in the event of bankruptcy proceedings, as well as other opportunities that may become available in the entertainment industry." Ms. Contreras-Sweet went on to thank numerous parties, including Mr. Burkle and Tarak Ben Ammar, a Franco-Tunisian financier and film producer who is one of three remaining members of the Weinstein Company's board. Conspicuously absent were the other two: Lance Maerov, an executive at the advertising giant WPP Group, and the co-owner Bob Weinstein, who has been struggling to keep the studio afloat since October, when The New York Times and The New Yorker disclosed decades of sexual harassment allegations against his brother, Harvey Weinstein. Harvey Weinstein has denied engaging in "nonconsensual sex." The on-again, off-again effort by Ms. Contreras-Sweet's group to buy most of the Weinstein Company's assets encountered its first major snag last month. Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, filed a lawsuit against the company and the Weinstein brothers on Feb. 11 alleging that they had violated state and city laws barring gender discrimination, sexual harassment and coercion. At the time, Mr. Schneiderman said that the deal being discussed between Ms. Contreras-Sweet and the Weinstein Company was unacceptable because it did not adequately compensate victims, protect employees and ensure that those who enabled or perpetuated Mr. Weinstein's conduct would not be rewarded. The Weinstein Company and the investor group moved to address those concerns, but the studio's board announced on Feb. 25 that it would file for bankruptcy because Ms. Contreras-Sweet had not delivered on a promise to fund the studio's operations until a transaction was completed. Mr. Schneiderman got the deal back on track late last week, when he hosted a meeting between the two sides at his offices. He did so after the buyers and sellers had committed to terms that satisfied his concerns. The deal reached in that meeting, for instance, included a victims' fund worth up to $90 million. Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who jointly own about 42 percent of the Weinstein Company, would receive no cash from the sale. Amy Spitalnick, the press secretary for the attorney general, said in a statement on Tuesday that Mr. Schneiderman's lawsuit against the Weinstein Company and the Weinstein brothers remained active and an investigation into wrongdoings at the studio was ongoing. The attorney general's office also did not rule out the possibility that an already protracted sale process could have further twists. "We'll be disappointed if the parties cannot work out their differences and close the deal," Ms. Spitalnick said. After failing to find other buyers who would keep the studio intact — Lionsgate, Shamrock Capital Advisors, Killer Content and the Qatari company beIN Media Group were among those considering various pieces — the Weinstein Company board entered into exclusive negotiations with Ms. Contreras-Sweet's group in late January. Ms. Contreras-Sweet has no experience in Hollywood, but she is known in Los Angeles business and political circles. Much of her business career was spent at a California 7Up bottler, where she became vice president of public affairs and a part owner, according to her website. She then ran the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, managing a $14 billion budget. After that, she co-founded a private equity firm and in late 2006 founded ProAmerica Bank, which focused on Latino small business owners. The bank struggled and was sold in 2015. Correction: March 6, 2018 An earlier version of this article misstated the size of the budget that Maria Contreras-Sweet managed at the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. It was $14 billion, not $14 million. ## Related Coverage Go to Home Page » ## Site IndexThe New York Times
train30522
The Weinstein Company
Abstract.

 The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior to its financial troubles and eventual bankruptcy in February 2018. Founder and chief executive Bob Weinstein previously owned a small stake in the company. 
 The company dismissed joint founder and chief executive Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, after over 100 women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment, assault or rape. 
 On February 26, 2018, The Weinstein Company announced in a statement that it would declare bankruptcy following the collapse of a buyout deal with an investor group led by Maria Contreras-Sweet. However, in a surprising turn, the TWC board and the investor group confirmed on March 1, 2018, that they had reached a deal in which TWC would sell all of its assets for US$500 million.