Shareholders consider Clear Channel buyout, again

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The deal to take Clear Channel Communications Inc. private, announced 20 months ago, has been the subject of a lot of static from rankled shareholders, company officials and lenders. Delayed and shrunken, the $17.9 billion deal for the nation's largest owner of radio stations and a global power in billboards is finally to close a week from Wednesday if shareholders approve the $36-per-share offer on Thursday. The deal--in which private equity firms Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners would assume about $5.9 billion in existing debt and borrow another $16.4 billion to take Clear Channel private--already has regulatory approval. The lenders have deposited their portion of the funding in an escrow account. And no one expects hiccups this time. "They're prepared to close on the 30th," said Clear Channel... [read full story]