Sale of Clear Channel Loans Likely Delayed (at SmartMoney.com)

Sale of Clear Channel Loans Likely Delayed |Published: July 03, 2008 1:50 PM By Cynthia Koons Of Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Bankers underwriting the Clear Channel Communications Inc. (CCU) leveraged loan deal are expected to postpone the sale until next week amid uncertain market conditions and limited demand for highly speculative debt, market participants said Thursday. The deal, $3 billion of the $14 billion loan package, has been in the market for a few weeks at a discounted price. Earlier this week, the offer price was cut even lower as it proved difficult for the bankers to build a buyer base for the deal. The offering has suffered from unfortunate timing, with the stock market selling off and premiums for risky debt rising over the past few weeks on the rising price of oil, concerns about inflation and... [read full story]