• by Melynda Fuller , May 9, 2019

A week after Vice Media announced that it raised $250 million from investors, Disney — which once invested $400 million in the company — has reported a write-down of $353 million on that sum, The Wrap reports.

Disney announced the write-down with its first-quarter financial results yesterday. In November of last year, Disney reported a write-down of $157 million, three years after its investment in Vice Media. 

Disney made its investment four years ago, when Vice was valued at more than $4 billion. Later, in 2017, Vice’s valuation reached nearly $6 billion, after private-equity firm TPG invested $450 million.

Since then, the company has been hit with rounds of layoffs — in the latest releasing 10% of its workforce, in addition to other cultural problems, such as charges of sexual harassment. 

With the round of layoffs last fall, CEO Nancy Dubuc stated that the company was focused on a new strategy that would lead it toward profitability. The new round of investment is intended to bolster that vision. 

At the company’s Newfront presentation, Vice unveiled a plan to restructure content with a redesigned website, stating that audiences and advertisers were confused by its lineup of sites.

Under the new structure, Broadly, Amuse, Free, Tonic, Waypoint and Vice Sports will fold into the brand’s flagship site. Sites Motherboard, Noisey, Munchies and Vice News will have dedicated verticals on Vice.com to retain branding. 

New verticals will also appear on the site, including News, Identity, Entertainment, Music, Food, Tech, Games, Health and Drugs, along with a section called "Vice Stories."  

“Vice Stories” is a platform for the company’s social media stories that advertisers can access directly, leading them away from accessing content through Snapchat or Instagram.