Less than a month after Connoisseur Media — the media company led by CEO Jeff Warshaw — announced intentions to purchase Alpha Media, Connoisseur is now filing a lawsuit against Soros Fund Management and executive Michael Del Nin. The suit includes four allegations: breach of contract, promissory estoppel, quantum meruit, and violations of Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The lawsuit stems from a claim that Del Nin agreed to make Warshaw CEO of Audacy after the company exited its recent bankruptcy reorganization, or alternatively, to pay Warshaw 5% of Soros’ profits from the arrangement.
However, Soros is denying any agreement was made with Warshaw.
According to the lawsuit, Warshaw claims he spent two years working with Del Nin after first meeting him in 2022, collaboratively developing a plan to purchase the radio division of Cox Media Group. Nevertheless, the plan fell through in September 2023, despite a non-disclosure agreement signed in July 2023.
Meanwhile, at a similar time in 2023, Warshaw claims he learned of another investment firm seeking to divest its share of Audacy’s debt, with Cumulus Media named in the lawsuit as a potential acquirer. Furthermore, Warshaw claimed he did not reveal that Audacy would be a potential target for acquisition until Del Nin agreed either to make him CEO or to give him 5% of the profits from the potential deal if completed.
Following Audacy’s restructure in late 2024, the suit says Del Nin began to backpedal from his partnership with Warshaw, claiming there was no business relationship between the two and asserting that any contact was fabricated.
In addition, Warshaw says in the complaint that he agreed to partner exclusively with Del Nin and Soros for over a year in pursuit of the Audacy deal. He alleges that he would have partnered with others to pursue control of Audacy if not for the repeated assurances he says he was given.
As of Thursday night, Soros Fund Management has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
In addition to the acquisition of Alpha Media, Connoisseur Media has considered purchasing another radio group previously. Jeff Warshaw previously attempted to purchase Cumulus Media in 2022. The offer from Warshaw at the time would have paid Cumulus Media stockholders between $15 and $17 per share. That deal was rejected, however, with Cumulus CEO Mary Berner stating that the offer undervalued the company.
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