Cumulus Media exits Chapter 11 with $550 million less debt

Cumulus appointed a new board and kept Mary Berner as president and chief executive, with the existing management team in place. The Atlanta-based broadcaster emerged as a privately owned company after receiving all required approvals, including from the Federal Communications Commission, it said.

Debt swap hands company to lenders

Under the confirmed plan, Cumulus canceled 100% of its existing funded indebtedness, about $600 million, in exchange for 100% of the reorganized equity and $50 million in new convertible notes issued to former lenders, the company said. It said the transaction reduced debt obligations by about $550 million, compared with the roughly $600 million of funded debt canceled. Cumulus also amended and restated its asset-based revolving credit facility to maintain liquidity.

The plan transferred ownership from public shareholders to former lenders. Existing equity interests were canceled without distribution to current shareholders, according to court filings reported by Radio World in March. The March filings said that upon emergence Cumulus would no longer be subject to Securities Act or Exchange Act reporting requirements and was authorized to deregister with the SEC as promptly as practicable.

FCC approval came with staffing pledge

The FCC granted Cumulus's petition for reorganization, Radio & Television Business Report reported. To win the commission's approval, Cumulus agreed to retain newsroom staff for at least 24 months.

Prepackaged case began in March

Cumulus and certain subsidiaries began the prepackaged Chapter 11 process on 4 March 2026 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas under a restructuring support agreement with a group of lenders, and the company said it completed the process on an accelerated timeline consistent with its original expectations. Operations ran normally, with no disruption to audiences or advertisers, it said.

Radio World reported that the March filings sought to reject seven leases, including tower sites in San Francisco, Amarillo and Whitehall, Michigan, plus offices and studios in New York City, New Orleans and Topeka, and that the filing was Cumulus's second Chapter 11 in less than nine years.

What the company looks like now

Cumulus operates 377 owned-and-operated stations across 84 markets, according to the company. TheDesk.net put the count at nearly 400 licensed AM and FM stations and said Cumulus ranks behind iHeartMedia and ahead of Audacy. Radio World called Cumulus the third-largest commercial US radio group by revenue. Westwood One, Cumulus's syndication business, supplies programming to more than 7,800 affiliated stations, far more than the 377 Cumulus owns.

Berner said the company emerged "with a significantly stronger balance sheet" and cited growth for advertising partners and value for new shareholders. Cumulus did not announce new investments, changes to its station portfolio or new financial projections as part of its emergence, TheDesk.net reported.

Radio World reported in March that the new board retains authority to replace subsidiary managers at any time.