Discussions to buy Weinstein Co. collapse over lawsuit: US media

New York: A New York lawsuit against the movie studio set up by disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has forced the collapse of a once imminent deal to buy the production company, US media reported on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal said the deal, led by businesswoman Maria Contreras- Sweet, to buy The Weinstein Company for around $ 500 million had been close but fell apart on Sunday because the lawsuit introduced too much uncertainty to go ahead. The company, saddled with around $ 250 million of debt in the wake of Weinstein’s downfall, will now likely enter bankruptcy reorganisation, the Journal reported,

The deal, led by businesswoman Maria Contreras- Sweet, to buy The Weinstein Company for around $ 500 million had been closed. It fell apart on Sunday as the lawsuit introduced too much uncertainty to go ahead.

quoting people close to the company.

The bid from a group of investors led by Contreras- Sweet, a former Barack Obama administration official, reportedly included a fund to compensate victims and plans to appoint a majority- woman board.

The New York Post said Contreras- Sweet was withdrawing her nearly $ 500 million offer, “infuriated” that the New York state attorney general was insisting on inserting a monitor on the board of the new company. State prosecutors said the lawsuit — accusing Weinstein, the company and his brother of failing to protect employees from his alleged sexual misconduct — was filed out of fear that the imminent sale of the company could leave victims without adequate redress.

“The board’s whole purpose here was to try to keep this a going concern, save jobs — there’s over 100 people’s jobs at stakeand we were taking no equity,” Bob Weinstein was quoted as saying by The Journal.