Time Warner is considering buying a major stake in Vice that would value the company at more than $2 billion, according to various media reports. Fellow media conglomerate Fox bought a five percent stake in Vice last year, valuing the company at $1.4 billion.
Spokespeople for both companies declined to comment on the reports in SkyNews and the Financial Times.
Shane Smith and a couple of friends founded Vice in 1994 as a subversive magazine dedicated to punk culture. The company has attempted to retain the same spirit while maturing into a sprawling media company.
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It operates a large network of websites and online video channels, including Noisey and Motherboard, publishes the eponymous magazine and produces a TV show for HBO, the Time Warner owned-cable channel.
Video contributes the vast majority of the company’s revenue, which reached $175 million last year.
Smith, the company’s CEO, has often described Vice as a media conglomerate of the 21st century – blending youth culture and advocacy journalism online. It has recently launched verticals for food and sports, and will soon expand into other areas as well.
Vice operates offices across North America and in other countries, but a deal with Time Warner would help it scale even faster overseas.