Magazines. Peter Brant has bought back Interview magazine, after putting it into liquidation just over three months ago. A New York bankruptcy court approved Brant’s $1.5m offer. As he is the sole secured creditor, he is effectively buying the assets from himself – and essentially getting the magazine (launched almost 50 years ago by Andy Warhol) back for free. This move has enabled Brant to wipe out $3.3m in debts. Brant’s daughter Kelly Brant, who had been Interview’s president and responsible for its operations for the last several years, is believed to be planning to relaunch the title under most of the same leadership and a new holding company, Crystal Ball Media. The Business of Fashion says: “Over nearly 30 years as Interview’s owner, Peter Brant developed a reputation for not paying the bills. The independent magazine, known for pioneering the celebrity-on-celebrity interview format and documenting New York’s high and low culture, struggled financially in recent years. Media consumption shifted online and print advertising revenue declined. But Interview’s May 2018 bankruptcy filings reveal just how bad things had become. The magazine owed over $11m, had $17,000 in the bank and was valued at a mere $25,000. Former editorial director Fabien Baron alone was owed about half a million dollars in unpaid wages and expenses. Brant claimed to have loaned the business over $8m, guaranteed by Interview and its parent companies, since 2016. And both he and the magazine were facing multiple lawsuits alleging unpaid wages and wrongful terminations.” Oh well.
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Bust Interview mag sold back to its owner
