Weinstein Company to file for bankruptcy

The Weinstein Company said in a statement last Sunday that it would file for bankruptcy following the collapse of sale talks with an investor group.

Talks ended two weeks ago when the New York attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against the company.

“While we recognize that this is an extremely unfortunate outcome for our employees, our creditors and any victims, the board has no choice,” the statement said. “The beleaguered film and television studio said it would make the filing “in the coming days.”

The investor group was led by Maria Contreras-Sweet, who previously ran the Small Business Administration under President Barack Obama.

Weinstein faces dozens of allegations of sexual abuse, including rape, but denies non-consensual sex.

The allegations against Weinstein first surfaced in October last year, when the New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against Mr Weinstein.

"The Weinstein Company has been engaged in an active sale process in the hopes of preserving assets and jobs," the board said in a statement reported by several US newspapers.

"Today, those discussions concluded without a signed agreement."

The Weinstein Company board, a three-member group that includes its co-founder Bob Weinstein, also released a letter it sent earlier on Sunday to. Contreras-Sweet and one of her primary backers, the billionaire investor Ron Burkle.

In the letter, the board members said they had worked “tirelessly” in recent days to meet “virtually every demand you imposed,” including waiving a breakup fee if a deal was not consummated.

However, Contreras-Sweet’s team, according to the letter, had not come through with promised interim funding to keep the studio operating while a deal was completed.

The Weinstein Company had been finalizing a deal for Ms. Contreras-Sweet’s group to pay roughly $275 million for the studio, plus the assumption of $225 million in debt.