The Weinstein Company, dragged down by sex misconduct scandal, to file for bankruptcy
Now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein co-founded the company in 2005
Weinstein Co., the New York studio co-founded by Harvey Weinstein, will file for bankruptcy protection after last-ditch talks to sell its assets to an investor group collapsed.
The firm had been seeking a deal to spare it from bankruptcy after more than 70 women accused film producer Weinstein, its ex-chairman and once one of Hollywood’s most influential men, of sexual misconduct including rape. Weinstein denies having non-consensual sex with anyone.
“The Weinstein Company has been engaged in an active sale process in the hopes of preserving assets and jobs,” its board of directors said in a statement reported by newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle and The Los Angeles Times.
“Today, those discussions concluded without a signed agreement.”
The board had “no choice but to pursue its only viable option to maximise the Company’s remaining value: an orderly bankruptcy process.”
The firm had been close to inking a deal to sell itself for more than US$500 million to an investor group led by Maria Contreras-Sweet, a former official in Barack Obama’s presidential administration.