It appears The Onion might not take over InfoWars after all. A bankruptcy judge feels that the bidding process for InfoWars did not maximize the value of the company and that the process lacked the clarity needed.
A bankruptcy judge has blocked The Onion’s winning bid for Alex Jones’ Infowars conspiracy platform, citing concerns with the auction process which he says left money on the table.
“I’m going to not approve the sale to the purchaser. I think there’s a great lack of clarity here,” Judge Christopher Lopez, a bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Texas, said during the ruling on Tuesday.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/11/media/infowars-onion-lawsuit-block-hnk-intl/index.html
While it’s annoying and unfunny that The Onion’s bid is now blocked, it is understandable. The Onion only offered $1.75 million in cash while the rest comes comes in the form of a “credit”, which valued the bid at ~ $7 million. That’s why The Onion won.
But it sounds like the lack of cash in The Onion’s bid may be a sticking point. First United American Companies, which is affiliated with Alex Jones, had offered $3.5 million in cash. So you have this mismatch here that ultimately depends on how you value those “credits”. Are the credits really worth the equivalent amount in cash?
I can’t really say since I don’t believe the terms of those credits is public. If they are send them my way. Even if they are fully valued those credits might not save The Onion’s bid. The sealed bidding process meant other companies couldn’t see everyone else’s bids, possibly leaving money on the table. A new round of bidding may leave the amount The Onion is willing to pay in the dust. That seems to be the judge’s thinking.
I can’t help but think The Onion would’ve struggled to make the InfoWars site profitable. It seems more like a one time joke than anything else. It may have just ended up being a drag on The Onion’s resources, which already seem limited.
This judge may very well have saved The Onion from a mistake!
To end things…
On his show on Tuesday evening, Jones celebrated the decision, saying “we can celebrate the judge doing the right thing with the most ridiculous fraudulent auction known in human history.”
Well aren’t we dramatic. The most fraudulent auction known in human history? My god.
Anyway, it’s unfortunate The Onion might not win the InfoWars auction. But hey, we already live in crazy times. What’s one more wrench thrown into the jet engine.