The Onion recently bought InfoWars at auction (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/business/media/alex-jones-infowars-the-onion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z04.wTI6.sY67z8UDVaXO&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare).

The satirical news site intends to turn Infowars into a parody of itself. But the court overseeing the bankruptcy put a hold on the sale pending a hearing next week.

...

The Onion group did not release the terms of the sale, but in the hearing it emerged that it had offered less in cash than First United. It won by including a “credit bid,” a pledge by Sandy Hook families who had sued Mr. Jones in Connecticut to forgo for now collecting on a portion of the damages due them.

While Judge Lopez said he was not accusing the parties of doing anything improper, “I’m concerned about the process.” He scolded the trustee, saying the backup bidders “don’t even know the winning bid!”

An evidentiary hearing will be held. (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/the-onion-infowars-bankruptcy).

The judge has ordered an evidentiary hearing for next week to determine if the auction was conducted fairly, which could delay the process.

“We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened,” the judge, Christopher Lopez, said in an emergency hearing on Thursday afternoon.

Will the court find material problems with the auction which require redo, rebid or redress? If so, then the auction will not be considered to have been fair & square & the market will resolve "no".

This market will resolve when the court provides its findings, with extension if those findings are challenged (waiting up to 21 days for an appeal). If there are problems with the auction, but not material enough to warrant intervention, this will resolve as fair & square.

(I will not take a position in this market.)

Edit (18 Nov 2024): Clarified that redo, redress, rebid implies unfairness, market resolves was it fair = no.

Edit (18 Nov 2024): Added a waiting period for appeal before resolution.

Edit (30 December 2024): Extended market resolution date from eod 1 Jan 2025 to eod 2 Jan 2025, to accommodate appeal waiting period & legal holiday on New Year's Day 2025.