The Weinstein Company announced on Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy and that its assets will be sold to the private equity firm Lantern Capital Partners. All employees previously bound by non-disclosure agreements with the American studio will now be released from them.
The American studio, which was co-founded by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, reportedly has close to 100 employees, listed $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities and $500 million to $1 billion in assets.
“Today, the Company also takes an important step toward justice for any victims who have been silenced by Harvey Weinstein,” The Weinstein Company’s statement read. “Since October, it has been reported that Harvey Weinstein used non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Effective immediately, those ‘agreements’ end.”
The agreement with Lantern Capital Partners comes after a failed sale of the company’s assets to a consortium led by former Barack Obama administration official Maria Contreas-Sweet and billionaire Ron Burkle.
The studio’s downfall began in October 2017 after over 70 allegations of rape and sexual assault piled up against Harvey Weinstein. The powerful producer was subsequently removed from the company. Police departments in Los Angeles, New York and London are investigating the allegations against Weinstein, who has maintained that he has never engaged in non-consensual sex.
