What'll happen between WAXY and WAQI? Will one of them end up in the same situation as WQBA was post-Univision/HBC merger?
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Audacy Filed For Bankruptcy
- Thread starter exdjted
- Start date
It's really hilarious how freaked out some people are getting about this story:
www.insideradio.com
The NY Post article linked in the story quotes one employee as saying "This is scary." Far right media has done a great job convincing it's audience that Soros is the devil.
First of all Audacy owns 223 radio stations. Only 18 of them are news/talk.
Audacy hasn't made the level of investment in conservative talk made by iHeart and Cumulus.
The people who listen to conservative media are not going to change their opinions because their radio station has a new owner. There's nothing that owner can do to change their political opinions, whatever they are.
There's no reason to believe Soros will make content changes in the Audacy stations. As noted, there have been no programming changes made to the LMN stations. Some former Univision employees quit, but the stations they left are still doing the same thing.
George Soros' $415 Million Stake In Audacy Is Billionaire's Latest Radio Gambit.
George Soros' buyout of approximately $415 million of Audacy's debt would make his Soros Fund Management the largest stakeholder of the second-largest radio company in the U.S. when it emerges
The NY Post article linked in the story quotes one employee as saying "This is scary." Far right media has done a great job convincing it's audience that Soros is the devil.
First of all Audacy owns 223 radio stations. Only 18 of them are news/talk.
Audacy hasn't made the level of investment in conservative talk made by iHeart and Cumulus.
The people who listen to conservative media are not going to change their opinions because their radio station has a new owner. There's nothing that owner can do to change their political opinions, whatever they are.
There's no reason to believe Soros will make content changes in the Audacy stations. As noted, there have been no programming changes made to the LMN stations. Some former Univision employees quit, but the stations they left are still doing the same thing.
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*insert Beavis/Butthead laugh* "Dickey problem."
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After the Heftel / Tichenor merger (not the Univision acquisition years later), WQBA tried to become the "less Cuban" of the WAQI / WQBA combo. The idea was to appeal to later Cuban immigrants as well as the big and growing Nicaraguan, Colombian and Venezuelan communities in Miami.
I was in charge of trying to make WQBA be more broad and more about lifestyles in Miami and less... lots less... about Cuba and Castro. It did not work. There was just not enough commonality in lifestyle, culture, language usage and interests among the other non-Cuban groups. We tried, and it failed.
Today, the Cuban emigrants who arrived in the 60's and 70's are either gone or over 70 years old now. The younger Cuban first generation immigrants are not as interested in reclaiming what they lost when Castro took over as they had not had property or money for more than two decades. So talking all day about the communists and "restoring" Cuba is of no interest.
I don't care for hedge funds. Take Eddie Lampert, for example. As Owner/CEO/whatever of the holding company formed by the merger of K-Mart and Sears, he systematically gutted the company of all its valuable real estate assets, and rather than reinvesting the funds obtained by selling off that real estate, he pocketed it and put it into his hedge fund. It was no surprise, therefore, that K-Mart and Sears died the slow, miserable death that they did.Now we know to whom JPM Chase likely sold its debt last autumn!
I suspect few (if any) traditional banks will be among the equity holders as of the plan effective date; it's going to be a slew of hedge funds.
I doubt that George Soros would do this to Audacy, however. Contrary to anything the far right says, he seems relatively respectable, but I still don't like hedge funds!
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But......but......but subliminal Communist messages in the songs!It's really hilarious how freaked out some people are getting about this story:
George Soros' $415 Million Stake In Audacy Is Billionaire's Latest Radio Gambit.
George Soros' buyout of approximately $415 million of Audacy's debt would make his Soros Fund Management the largest stakeholder of the second-largest radio company in the U.S. when it emerges
The NY Post article linked in the story quotes one employee as saying "This is scary." Far right media has done a great job convincing it's audience that Soros is the devil.
First of all Audacy owns 223 radio stations. Only 18 of them are news/talk.
Audacy hasn't made the level of investment in conservative talk made by iHeart and Cumulus.
The people who listen to conservative media are not going to change their opinions because their radio station has a new owner. There's nothing that owner can do to change their political opinions, whatever they are.
There's no reason to believe Soros will make content changes in the Audacy stations. As noted, there have been no programming changes made to the LMN stations. Some former Univision employees quit, but the stations they left are still doing the same thing.
That tends to be how private equity operates in general. Forstmann-Little and Bain may have taken Citadel and iHeart into bankruptcy, but I can't imagine they lost money themselves. After the Tribune bankruptcy, Zell was reported to have said that he didn't lose money on the deal.
Soros is a boogeyman to the right-wing, and that's kind of funny to me. He may be a socially liberal Trump hater, but he didn't become a billionaire through socialism and high taxes. He knows and understands that. While I suppose we can't completely rule out that he's buying into Audacy for ideological purposes, he's most likely buying into it thinking he can make money. When your goal is to make money, you're only as liberal (or conservative, for that matter) as the market allows you to be.
I agree. I haven't seen him buy something and then use his power to force his ideology. He invests in companies he believes in, and his money helps them achieve their goals. Then he hopes to make a profit. My take is he approves of the way the company runs its all-news stations, and wants to see them preserved. No other radio company is that invested in all-news as a format.
Soros doesn’t strike me as a music guy (and neither does his son, who runs the day-to-day now), so the Soros family investing in a radio conglomerate with a lot of music stations is interesting to say the least.
I doubt that we’re suddenly going to be hearing Rage Against the Machine on WXRT all the same.
George Soros now is the biggest bag holder of Dave's debt at Audacy. George Soros fund poised to take control of nation’s second-largest chain of radio stations: ‘This is scary’
You're several day's late to discovering this. We've been discussing it for three days already. Starting with Post #324 on Wednesday.
Somebody has to hold the debt. Soros has an investment fund, just as Mitt Romney had Bain. Money is money. It's all green.
I think the Clear Channel deal was not profitable in that they had to be forced to complete it even when they knew the vale had declined along with revenue.
But… “breaking even“ means a zero return on capital, plus the loss in the value of the money due to inflation.
The books aren't closed if they still own 10% equity.
The reason Clear Channel was forced to divest KHMX & KLOL in 2008 wasn’t the FCC’s market cap but the DOJ was concerned about market concentration of revenue and wouldn’t approve the deal without the sale.
Bankruptcy court approves Audacy's Chapter 11 restructuring plan:
radioinsight.com
Bankruptcy Court Approves Audacy’s Chapter 11 Restructuring Plan – RadioInsight
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has approved Audacy’s Plan of Reorganization allowing it to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings upon approval from the FCC. The approved plan will see Audacy cut its debt from approximately $1.9 billion to approximately...
radioinsight.com
A few more details on the court proceedings:
www.insideradio.com
George Soros' fund owns 40%+ of the company debt with other large debtholders being HG Vora Capital Management, SI Capital Commercial Finance, and PGIM.
While the company says trade and other unsecured creditors will not be impaired, existing shareholders are expected to be wiped out, while high-ranking creditors like Soros would be repaid with stock in the restructured company in a debt-for-equity swap.
Oracle America, and 5670 Wilshire Owner were the only two creditors who filed objections to the plan.
After Bankruptcy Court OK, Audacy’s Reorganization Plan Heads To FCC.
It has been a fast trek through bankruptcy court for Audacy. Just over six weeks after beginning prepackaged chapter 11 proceedings, radio’s second largest group on Tuesday won court approval
George Soros' fund owns 40%+ of the company debt with other large debtholders being HG Vora Capital Management, SI Capital Commercial Finance, and PGIM.
While the company says trade and other unsecured creditors will not be impaired, existing shareholders are expected to be wiped out, while high-ranking creditors like Soros would be repaid with stock in the restructured company in a debt-for-equity swap.
Oracle America, and 5670 Wilshire Owner were the only two creditors who filed objections to the plan.
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