May 2 (UPI) -- The Weinstein Company has announced that Lantern Capital is the winning bidder of its bankruptcy sale with a bid of $310 million plus the assumption of project-based liabilities of $115 million.
The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy in February after it failed to negotiate a sale of the film studio, which was founded by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein. The studio dismissed Harvey after numerous women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against the filmmaker, and suffered consequences from the revelations against him.
Lantern Capital beat out a $315 million bid from Broadway producer Howard Kagan under the name of Inclusion Media. The Weinstein Company said that Kagan's bid lacked a financing commitment, among other qualifications.
Delaware bankruptcy judge Mary Walrath still must sign off on the deal, and the New York attorney general's office also expected to weight in on the matter. A hearing on the sale will take place on May 8.
"Lantern's bid clearly achieves the highest and best value for the estate and its creditors," Ivona Smith, an independent member of the Weinstein Company board, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Lantern to close the transaction and consummate the going concern sale."
"We are honored by the board's recognition and acceptance of Lantern's planned acquisition. Lantern looks forward to continuing our work with the constituents involved in this court supervised transaction. Furthermore, we appreciate the significant support from employees, business partners, creative talent and numerous industry leaders as we set out to launch this new company," said Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovic, the co-founders of Lantern Capital. "Lantern Entertainment remains committed to providing premier content with a diverse workforce in a safe environment founded on a culture of respect and creativity."
Kagan's offer included allocating $30 million into two separate victims' funds that would benefit those affected by Harvey's alleged sexual misconduct. The measure was supported by five of the women who filed a lawsuit against Harvey citing sexual misconduct. The five women oppose Lantern Capital's offer, which does not propose any victim compensation.
"Lantern's bid in no way addresses the victims of Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault enterprise, which would sweep the 100+ instances of sexual assault, rape and more under the rug," attorney Elizabeth Fegan who represents those with claims against Harvey said in a statement.
On Monday, a number of Hollywood stars including Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Murray, Julia Roberts, Rachel McAdams and author Stephen King filed objections to the bankruptcy sale of The Weinstein Company, stating they are owed profits for participation across various projects.
The stars object to the transferring of rights to those projects without being paid the default amounts. Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino also filed an objection saying he's owed over $4.5 million from four films.
