Weinstein Company Files for Bankruptcy, No Bids on Potted Plants
Man, today is a bad day for me, The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy and I already used my clever headline about it on the early reports speculating that this was the move they would make. It’s interesting to find out that the production company kept two sets of books, one with the actual finances of the studio and one for Harvey to cum in. Variety had the details, which mainly amount to the board thinking that The Weinstein Company is going to survive as an entity when it absolutely won’t.
The company may yet be able to reorganize and continue to produce TV shows and films under new ownership. Lantern Capital put in a “stalking horse” bid, which provides a floor for a bankruptcy auction.
“The Board selected Lantern in part due to Lantern’s commitment to maintain the assets and employees as a going concern,” the company said in a statement. “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.”
Is anyone clamoring for TWC to stay in business? No one wants to work with them, which is why they’re filing for bankruptcy. There’s no value in their company anymore, Harvey shot that into a potted plant. What The Weinstein Company does have, however, is a catalogue of movies and television shows. That has value. That’s what people want.
Bidders have been circling since the on-again, off-again deal to sell the company to Burkle’s group collapsed on March 6. Aside from Lantern, however, none of the bidders are believed to be interested in keeping the company as a going concern, instead focusing on the value of the company’s library. Potential bidders include Lionsgate, beIN Media (the owners of Miramax), Vine Alternative Investments, Shamrock Capital, Killer Content and A+E Networks. beIN would have a special incentive to unite the 277-film Weinstein library with the 700-plus titles in the Miramax library, while A+E is keen to take control of Lifetime’s “Project Runway.”
This is a bad week for Harvey Weinstein, too. He’s expected to lose some 11 million dollars he’s owed by the company which will be wiped out in bankruptcy, and now that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is being primaried by Cynthia Nixon, who turns out to be a capable politician, he’s launched an investigation into the DA’s handling of the Weinstein case to make himself look good. Maybe the warden will take pity on Harv and give him some foreign films to butcher in his cell, since that’s his other favorite hobby.
[Image: David Shankbone)
