Money | Clear Channel $19B Buyout of Clear Channel Nearly Dead Credit woes have sale of radio giant to private firms crumbling By Matt Cantor Posted Mar 25, 2008 7:30 PM CDT Copied Motorists on Interstate 35 pass by a digital billboard, installed by radio and billboard giant Clear Channel, which changes images every eight seconds in this Feb. 12, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, file) A $19 billion bid to privatize Clear Channel appears likely to fall through as buyers and financiers bicker—with credit-crunch-induced liquidity woes a major stumbling block, the Wall Street Journal reports. A credit agreement between private equity firms and the banks funding the move has become shaky. “No one wants to do this deal except for the seller,” said a source. The sale was arranged in 2006, when access to credit, and prospects for the largest US radio broadcaster, were better. Selling to Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital for $39.20 a share seemed fitting, but now Clear Channel’s shares are closer to $32. The company’s “viability” isn’t the issue, says an expert: “It's purely the problems inherent in the debt world today.” Read These Next Trumps ends trade talks with Canada. Gavin Newsom has filed a massive lawsuit against Fox News. New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. A man has been deported for kicking an airport customs beagle. Report an error