Airbnb Investor in Talks to Purchase $500 Million Stake in Vice Media

DEAL WOULD VALUE THE BROOKLYN BASED MEDIA COMPANY AT $5.25 BILLION

VICE MEDIA CEO, SHANE SMITH

Vice Media doesn't need a stinking IPO to raise cash. The company has been doing just fine in private over the past few years as multiple investors have come knocking on Shane Smith's door for a piece of the action. The latest to come knocking is said to be TPG, a private equity group that holds a stake in Airbnb. The company is said to be in talks with Vice Media about buying in for $500 million which would slap a new valuation of $5.25 billion on the Brooklyn based company which publishes such top notch digital products like Vice.com, Noisy, i-D, Munchies, Vice Sports, Vice News, Tonic and others. But TPG isn't the only interested party. There are others hoping to win the stake in Vice as well including CVC Capital Partners. The new cash injection will help fund Vice's aggressive international expansion. As far as an IPO, Vice is believed to still be moving in that direction and could possibly list its shares some time next year.

People close to Vice cautioned that no firm decision has been made by Shane Smith, Vice's co-founder and chief executive, about‎ whether to go public, and there has been persistent speculation that The Walt Disney Company - already a shareholder in Vice - will seek to buy the company outright.

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