Audacy CEO David Field cited the past four years of economic turbulence caused by the pandemic as the primary cause for the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday, but key dates since 2022 have reflected the company’s financial battle.
March 21, 2022
Audacy’s share price closes at $3.24.
June 27
Share price falls below $1.
August 1
Audacy receives notification from the New York Stock Exchange that the company’s Class A common stock is not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standard requiring a minimum average closing price of $1 per share over 30 consecutive trading days.
March 15, 2023
In its Q4 2022 earnings call, Field expresses his concern over, “Weathering the storm,” caused by global political and economic issues. Total net revenue for the quarter was $342 million, a 1% decrease year-over-year. Without political, revenue was down 4%.
March 24
In a preliminary Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Audacy announces its intention to vote on a reverse stock split to keep the company on the New York Stock Exchange.
May 11
Audacy’s Q1 2023 earnings call takes a turn with pointed questions in the Q&A. CFO Rich Schmaeling responded that costs for the last three quarters of the year are expected to decline by 4%.
Audacy’s Q1 net revenue was $259.64 million, down from $279.3 million YoY, and its net loss widened to $35.9 million from $11.07 million in 2022.
May 16
The New York Stock Exchange halts trading and begins delisting of Audacy shares over continued non-compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards due to an “abnormally low” selling price of its common stock. Share price closes at $0.09.
May 24
Shareholders vote in favor of a 1-for-30 reverse stock split.
June 30
Audacy implements the 1-for-30 reverse stock split to regain NYSE compliance. The reverse split reduced the number of outstanding shares of Audacy’s Class A common stock from around 137.5 million to about 4.6 million and the number of outstanding shares of Class B common stock from approximately 4 million to about 135,000.
The reverse split boosts share price to $2.13.
July 11
The Wall Street Journal reports Audacy is preparing to enter negotiations with financial creditors to restructure its debt. Radio Ink is told, “As we have previously stated we intended to do, we have initiated discussions with our lenders to refinance our debt and optimize our balance sheet to position Audacy for long-term growth as we continue to invest in our people, platform, technology, content and growth initiatives.”
August 7
Audacy released its Q2 2023 financials without an earnings call. The filing reports a 6.6% decrease in net revenues from the same period in 2022, falling from $319.4 million to $298.5 million. Audacy also expresses a “Going Concern” statement that it may not be able to stay afloat financially within the next 12 months.
August 8
Share price again falls under the $1 mark.
October 2
Audacy opts to use a 30-day grace period for an $18 million cash interest payment. The interest, originally due on September 30, comes from 6.75% notes due in 2029.
October 30
The New York Stock Exchange denies Audacy’s delisting appeal and files a Form 25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
November 9
Audacy quietly releases its 2023 Q3 financials with no advance notice, posting a 5.6% decline in net revenues from the previous year. Local, national, and network revenues decrease as digital grows. Share price closes at $0.38.
November 10
Audacy is delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
December 4
JPMorgan Chase steps down from its role as Audacy’s Letter of Credit and Swing Line Lender. Wilmington Savings Fund Society becomes Audacy’s new Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent, responsible for covering the company’s loans in case of default.
December 11
Audacy again files for a final grace period extension, requiring a completed agreement that addresses its overall debt situation to the satisfaction of the majority of the lenders be submitted by December 15 and agreed upon by December 18.
January 7, 2024
Audacy files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
You forgot an Important item prevalent throughout the timeline:
Audacy leadership are a bunch of clowns.