The commission will OK the $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel, reports indicate.
CNNMoney.com and Dow Jones Newsletters reported all five commissioners have signed off on the buyout by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, according to a source close to the issue. It wasn’t clear how long before the deal would receive formal approval.
Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee still need to collect $22 billion worth of debt, which includes Clear Channel’s existing debt, to finance the deal. “As of earlier Thursday, the banks had not yet sold that debt, according to Chris Donnelly of Standard & Poor’s Leveraged Commentary and Data,” CNNMoney reported, crediting Communications Daily with breaking the story.
