Clear Channel, the No. 1 U.S. radio station operator, said on Thursday it would be acquired by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and the company’s founding Mays family for nearly $19 billion.
Clear Channel, which operates 1,100 radio stations, is selling at a time when the radio advertising market is weak, and listeners are migrating to digital music, Internet media and satellite radio, hurting radio broadcasters.
The private equity firms, which have also pursued other large media properties this year, agreed to buy Clear Channel for $37.60 a share, a 16 percent premium to the $32.35 closing share price on Oct. 25, when the company said it was looking at strategic alternatives.
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