Weinstein Company Bankruptcy: Lantern Capital Partners Receives 11th-Hour Challenge from Inclusion Media
On May 1 — with support from six plaintiffs of a class-action lawsuit against Weinstein — Inclusion Media posited a $315 million cash offer, which would have provided equity and multi-million dollar settlement funds to alleged Harvey Weinstein victims inside and outside TWC. More than 100 women have come forward claiming Weinstein sexually abused or harassed them since the ’80s, and he is now at the center of police investigations in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Weinstein, fired by his namesake company October 8, maintains that he has only had consensual relationships.
“Earlier today, news outlets reported that the Company received a letter of interest from Inclusion Media, a potential bidder backed by [Broadway producer] Howard Kagan,” said TWC in a statement. “That letter, submitted after the bid deadline, was a conditional indication of interest that contemplated substantially less value to the estate, and did not include a purchase agreement, a financing commitment, a deposit, or a number of other requirements for a qualified bid. While the Inclusion letter did claim to offer certain attractive aspects for victims, the Debtors concluded after discussions with Mr. Kagan that the Inclusion letter was not a bona fide offer.”
Meanwhile, in an open letter yesterday, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman cautioned bidders to “set aside financial resources to compensate and provide support services for injured employees and industry talent, both of whom are essential to the company’s future success.”
Read More:Quentin Tarantino Alleges Weinstein Company Owes Him $4.5 Million in Film Royalties
Just this month, a TWC lawyer boasted that the 13-year-old studio had lined up five-dozen possible buyers. That turned out not to be the case; if multiple bids had been received by April’s end, an auction would have been held this Saturday. Instead, Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Walrath of Wilmington, Del., will preside over a May 8 sales hearing to determine whether Lantern can move forward with its intended acquisition. It is unclear whether Lantern would keep TWC in New York City, per the wishes of Mayor Bill de Blasio and the company’s 80 employees.
Allegations against Weinstein plunged TWC into chaos, leaving producers of at least 30 film and television projects fretting about whether their work will ever see an audience. Lantern seeks to control its 277-film library.
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