Soros getting radio-active
Soros Fund Management, founded by billionaire investor George Soros, is tightening its grip over the US radio industry after scooping up a majority stake in bankrupt Audacy.
The fund’s February investment in Audacy, the second-largest radio firm in the US behind iHeartMedia, potentially marks the beginning of a larger audio-buying spree, three people who have been involved in discussions with Soros executives told Semafor.
In those talks, Soros’ fund, which is now controlled by the magnate’s nonprofit organization, Open Society Foundations, has privately mulled acquiring other major radio companies, including AM and FM giant Cumulus Media, according to Semafor.
As the largest shareholder in Audacy, SFM already owns 230 radio stations nationwide — including New York’s WFAN and WINS, as well as Los Angeles-based KROQ , according to bankruptcy filings — as well as a podcast arm that includes Cadence13 and Pineapple Street Studios.
The fund also took on roughly $400 million of Audacy’s sizable debt.
The fund’s lead media investor, Michael Del Nin, has arranged meetings with multiple heavyweight players in the digital media and audio space over the past year, including at podcasting firm Project Brazen, Semafor reports.
Del Nin has also mulled an acquisition of Pushkin Industries, the podcasting and audiobook company co-founded by Malcolm Gladwell, as well as podcast network Lemonada Media, best known for its “Wiser Than Me” show with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, sources told Semafor.
Separately, a podcast industry insider told the outlet that Lemonada, which also inked a podcasting deal with Meghan Markle in February, is in the middle of a formal process to find a buyer, but potential customers have refused to pay the company’s asking price.
The Federal Communications Commission has regulations that limit the number of radio stations a single entity can own.
Representatives for Soros Fund Management at Open Society Foundations did not respond to a request for comment.