Vice Media gets investors

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/business/media/05vice.html?_r=1
Today it is a pan-media confederation with a record label, a book label, its own television series and a full-service media agency. It is about to grow larger still with the backing of some of the biggest names and deepest pockets in the media business.

Vice is preparing to announce investment partnerships with Tom Freston, MTV’s co-founder; WPP, the giant media conglomerate; and the Raine Group, a boutique investment firm. To help it expand, Vice has also enlisted William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and its chief executive, Ari Emanuel, to represent the company.

Vice now employs 750 people in offices in 34 countries and claims some 2,500 contributors. Mr. Smith said that as a next step, he would like to see Vice build offices in China and India that are on par with its large operations in London and New York. He said he expected the company’s profits to approach $50 million within the next couple of years.