Soros Fund Management, founded by billionaire investor George Soros, is tightening its grip on the U.S. radio industry after acquiring a majority stake in the bankrupt radio company Audacy.
The fund’s February investment in Audacity, the second-largest radio company in the U.S. after iHeartMedia, could mark the beginning of a larger audio buyout, three people involved in the discussions said. A Soros executive told Semaphore..
Amid these negotiations, Mr. Soros’s fund is now managed by his nonprofit, the Open Society Foundations, and other major radio companies, including AM and FM giant Cumulus Media, are involved in the negotiations, according to Semaphore. The company is reportedly considering acquiring the company privately.
As Audacy’s largest shareholder, Soros Fund Management already owns 230 radio stations across the United States (including New York’s WFAN and 1010 WINS and Los Angeles-based KROQ, according to the bankruptcy filing), as well as Cadence 13. It also owns a podcast division that includes Yahoo! and Pineapple Street. studio.
The fund also assumed approximately $400 million of Audacy’s significant debt in its corporate strategy.
According to Semafor, the fund’s lead media investor, Michael Del Nin, has arranged meetings with several leading companies in the digital media and audio space over the past year, including podcasting company Project Brazen. .
Del Nin also owns Pushkin Industries, a podcasting and audiobook company co-founded by Malcolm Gladwell, and Lemonada Media, a podcast network known for its “smart” show with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The company is also considering an acquisition, sources told Semaphore. .
Separately, podcast industry insiders said Lemonada, which signed a podcast deal with Duchess Meghan in February, is currently in the midst of the formal process of finding a buyer, but that potential customers are not willing to pay for the company’s high asking price. He told the media that he was refusing to pay.
However, the Federal Communications Commission has regulations that limit the number of radio stations that a single entity can own.
Additionally, in September 2022, Soros also invested an undisclosed amount in Crooked Media, a liberal podcast network, Semaphore reported. The network is home to the popular show Pod Save America, which averages more than 1.5 million listeners per episode.
That same year, a Soros-backed company played a key role in Univision’s $60 million sale of 17 Hispanic radio stations to a company run by Democratic political veterans, Semaphore reported. Reported.
Republican lawmakers at the time warned that Soros was trying to take over Cuban radio. According to the Miami Herald, A right-wing media startup warned in a text blast that “international socialist billionaires” are “trying to silence conservative Spanish voices with the purchase of WAQI-710 AM Manbi.”
When Soros’ investment in Audacity was announced just months later, Republican officials familiar with the situation said at the time that Soros was buying the stock to influence public opinion in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election. He told the Post that it may be the case.
“This is scary,” the official said.
Audacy filed for bankruptcy on January 7 with $1.9 billion in debt.
Under the current Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, existing shareholders would be wiped out and high-ranking creditors like Mr. Soros would be repaid with shares in the reorganized company.
Representatives for the Open Society Foundations’ Soros Endowment Management did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The reins of the Open Society Foundations, which funnels about $1.5 billion a year to liberal causes, were recently handed over to Soros’s youngest son, 38-year-old New York University graduate Alex, who admits he was one of the reasons he was chosen. Department said it was to be “more political” than his elderly father.
In yet another media strategy for Soros, a Soros-linked fund joined a consortium of former lenders that paid $350 million for bankrupt Vice Media last summer. At its peak, Vice Media was once valued at $6 billion.
A Manhattan federal bankruptcy court judge has ruled that Soros Fund Management and Fortress Investment Group are the best options to bring the Brooklyn-based media company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. .
The fire sale marked the surprising end of Vice, which was co-founded by big-time media executive Shane Smith.
