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Sudden high profile exits at Cumulus
- Thread starter MarkW
- Start date
The same thing that's happening at Meruelo, and a bunch of other places. The advertising depression continues.
Val Garris Exits Cumulus Media - RadioInsight
Another veteran programming executive is departing Cumulus Media as Corporate VP/Programming Val Garris has exited his position. Garris joined Cumulus in the early 2000s with time as Executive Format Director for Rock/Classic Rock, VP/Programming, and VP/Analytics. He previously held positions...
radioinsight.com
There's a difference between corporate executives exiting and station airstaff layoffs.
I agree, but the common denominator is money.
I wouldn't be surprised if the next big announcement from Cumulus comes from Mary Berner.
Mary Berner does turn 65 this year, so her retirement would not be sudden or unexpected.
At high management positions (thing "President of the US"), 65 is not as much a "trigger" for retirement. I waited ten years longer, and even then I would have continued were it not for the pandemic and the poor opportunities in radio in my part of the world.
There's more at play at Cumulus with these departures. Not fully about money...
The fact that there's no quote from anyone at the company thanking either of them for their service, wishing them well, etc....
So yes, very interesting.
Merger? Reorganization?
😳
David for President….
I've already got a job. And I can think of about 100 other jobs and professions I'd prefer than anything in politics today!
Excellent observation; that fact admittedly went unnoticed by me.
Cumulus Media Adopts Limited-Duration Shareholders Rights Plan To Ward Off Hostile Takeover - RadioInsight
As a Cumulus Media shareholder intends to increase its holding in the company to 20% of the company, Cumulus has instituted a limited-duration shareholders rights plan to impose a significant penalty on any person or group becoming the holder of 15% or more of their Class A Common Shares without...
radioinsight.com
Well, at least somebody thinks radio is still a viable businessCumulus Media Adopts Limited-Duration Shareholders Rights Plan To Ward Off Hostile Takeover - RadioInsight
As a Cumulus Media shareholder intends to increase its holding in the company to 20% of the company, Cumulus has instituted a limited-duration shareholders rights plan to impose a significant penalty on any person or group becoming the holder of 15% or more of their Class A Common Shares without...
Is the suspicion here that there is a merger or acquisition on the horizon or is this a philosophical change based on poor performance?
I don't have any inside information or knowledge of the situation there, but Renew Group is hardly hiding that it wants a shotgun marriage of Cumulus and Audacy. Wouldn't be surprised if some other investors in the companies (even some who don't own stock in both) feel the same.
Interesting. Would DOJ have to approve?
Absolutely. There are ownership limits in places like Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, and several other places.
Renew Group also wants to gut these companies down to their bones and operate on a shoestring. The Cumulus board did not put the poison pill in place for that reason, but rather as they know there is more value in controlling their destiny and not letting outsiders force their way in on terms that aren't good for the other shareholders.
There's less overlap between Audacy and Cumulus that you may think and I've had a rising suspicion for months that this does become the end result in some form. By my count there are only 9 or 10 markets that one of the company's clusters would have to be fully divested and 3 to 5 where only individual stations would need to be sold and of the markets where there is overlap between Audacy and Cumulus, conveniently four of them are markets where iHeart does not operate.
Any deal over a certain value would have to be cleared by the DOJ and, I believe, the FTC. A Cumulus/Audacy merger would definitely be above that value unless it has changed substantially over the last 10 years.
Such a deal actually makes a lot of sense on paper. As Lance mentions, despite their large footprints, the two companies have surprisingly little overlap. A handful of spinoffs would be required in Minneapolis, Chicago, San Francisco, Memphis, and Atlanta, possibly DC, too. Entire clusters, or near entire clusters, would have to be spun in New Orleans, Dallas, Kansas City, Buffalo, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. I might be missing a market or two, but the two otherwise fit almost perfectly. Also, as Lance mentions, iHeart doesn't operate in KC, Buffalo or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. So, the two companies could potentially execute swaps to satisfy ownership concentration issues in those markets.
One has to wonder if Cumulus is wishing it took that almost $2 billion offer from Warshaw a couple years ago. It's currently trading at less than half of what Warshaw offered for the company in Spring 2022. I see little reason to believe that value is going to go up anytime soon.