From Inside Radio:

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 has won approval for its financial reorganization plan from U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. With the plan approved, Audacy says it expects to emerge from bankruptcy after obtaining approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

“Today’s announcement marks a powerful step forward for Audacy, positioning the company for an exciting future,” Audacy Chairman, President and CEO David Field said in a statement. “As expected, we have achieved a speedy confirmation of our prepackaged plan, which will enable Audacy to pursue our strategic goals and opportunities in the dynamic audio business.”

These David Field quotes are so corny. We will “pursue our strategic goals.” Man, you ran the company into the ground. The strategic goal should be to not file for bankruptcy.

In a writeup for the Philadelphia Business Journal, Jeff Blumenthal notes that Audacy now gets handed over to a group of lenders led by a George Soros firm. He writes that “lenders have agreed to reduce all but $350 million of Audacy’s $1.9 billion in debt. Existing shareholders are expected to be left with nothing to show for their investments, while larger creditors would be repaid with stock in the restructured company.”

What does it mean for 94 WIP and the local stations? Not much, at least not right now. The bankruptcy court approved the sale of a couple of Boston properties, three radio towers included, which netted Audacy several million dollars. Philadelphia is the Audacy HQ and we’re not gonna have an idea of how this affects things at the local level until the FCC approval is done and we get a better look at how the company is going to be restructured.