Cumulus is inching toward another financial reckoning, with collapsing profitability, declining revenue, and little room left to maneuver running out of both time and options.
- Bleak first-quarter results but beneath the surface is a strategy that looks all too familiar — one that echoes the company’s pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017.
- Once again, CEO Mary Berner may be steering the company toward a controlled crash landing before creditors take the wheel.
What to watch
- Lender pressure: If debt covenants are breached or EBITDA falls further, lenders may push for restructuring — likely behind the scenes first while the company gives the business-as-usual look.
- Layoffs and asset sales: Is it even possible for Cumulus to cut deeper, sell assets where buyers are scarce or relieve themselves of non-core assets – Berner has a plan.
- A second bankruptcy filing? It will be similar to the first one with industry-threatening desperation that could upend other struggling radio groups teetering on the brink.
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