The Weinstein Company fired its founder — and was bankrupt five months later

The Weinstein Company was named for its co-founder and built around his record as a producer. On 5 October 2017 the New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations against him; eight days later the board announced his termination, effective immediately.

The official exits multiplied through the winter: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to expel him on 14 October, Bafta terminated his membership on 2 February 2018, and on 11 February New York prosecutors sued the company itself over its failure to protect employees. The board's decision did not save the business, because the business was the name.

On 19 March 2018 the company filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware, listing $500m-$1B in assets and liabilities, and announced an end to its non-disclosure agreements. A bankruptcy judge approved a revised sale in July, and on 16 July the 277-film library was sold to Lantern Capital Partners for $289m — down from an agreed $310m after the buyer took on the studio's contracts with filmmakers and actors.

Firing the founder cost the company its name and its value: Chapter 11 in five months, and the 277-film library sold for $289M, down from $310M.

The studio's entire value sat in one man's name and one man's record; the board's own business model made the founder's risk the company's balance sheet.

Eight days between story and firing was not a plan: the expulsion, a state lawsuit and bankruptcy followed within five months, because no governance structure could separate business from name.

The discount in the sale — $310m agreed, $289m paid — was the liabilities priced in: the buyer charged for taking over the studio's contracts.

A company named for its founder inherits the founder's whole risk: the board fired him in eight days, but the business was the name, and five months later it was bankrupt.

The sale closed on 16 July 2018 and the library was relaunched as Lantern Entertainment. The company that bore his name ceased to exist; the films continued under a new owner.