CANNES — Vice Media head honcho Shane Smith has been talking with bankers about the possibility of taking his youth-centric media company public.
“We have met with all the big banks. We’ve had talks,” he told The Post on Thursday at the Cannes Lions festival.
Smith said he wants to show investors impressive growth and is aiming to double the company’s revenue, which is on track to hit $1 billion this year, in 2016.
Vice, which began as a free magazine in the mid- 90s, produces hard-hitting investigative reports alongside edgier cultural content for its own properties and a host of established media companies.
The company reaps much of its revenue from clients such as HBO, which pay a licensing fee for Vice’s programming, and advertisers that pony up for branded content. Marketers also pay for ads on Vice’s media platforms, including its website, YouTube channel and print magazine.
Vice’s investors include former Viacom chief Tom Freston, 21st Century Fox and the Raine Group, along with A&E Television Networks and ad giant WPP.
Smith acknowledged that an IPO is premature until Vice can get a branded cable TV channel off the ground. The company is working with one of its shareholders, cable powerhouse A&E, to rebrand History 2, but first needs new carriage deals with cable, satellite and telecom providers.
Smith was speaking as part of a panel that included Pinterest founder Evan Sharp and Bank of America executive Meredith Verdone. The three parties are working together to create content on financial responsibility that will air on Vice’s digital network.
“I want them to need me, love me, and not hate me,” said Smith referring to his target audience. “Millenials are the most sophisticated consumers in history.”
The collaboration came about after Bank of America married the two media platforms. Pinterest was working with the Wall Street firm to provide it with data about how its users are planning for future events such as getting married or launching new companies, according to Sharp.
Meanwhile, Bank of America used Pinterest data to help Vice get a sharper insight and help direct Vice’s programming for the bank on the topic on financial responsibility.
Pinterest hopes to strike other such deals with media outlets looking for deeper understanding of their users, Sharp told The Post.