Essence Magazine’s parent company is in talks to acquire Vice Media’s women’s lifestyle site Refinery29, the Wall Street Journal reported. The price being discussed couldn’t be learned but Essence would likely pay a fraction of the $400 million Vice paid in cash and stock when it bought Refinery29 in 2019. News of the discussions, which could still fall apart, comes just days after Vice’s largest shareholder, Fortress Investment Group, said it would stop publishing content on the company’s namesake site, Vice.com, and was laying off hundreds of staffers. Vice Media was once valued at $5.7 billion and was among the most promising digital-media ventures, but has struggled to stay afloat. Fortress, which took over Vice in bankruptcy last year, is now focusing on its remaining assets, which include its production studio, TV network and ad agency Virtue.
