Clear Channel Closes Sale of TV-Group

The agreement cuts the price for the 56 TV stations to about $1.1 billion, Clear Channel said late Friday. The original deal reached last April was for more than $1.2 billion.

The separate $19.5 billion sale of Clear Channel to a private-equity group remains on track to close by the end of the first quarter, Clear Channel Chief Executive Mark Mays said in a memo to employees. Many investors expect the buyout, led by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, to close as early as next week.

The closure of the TV deal comes after a month of litigation between Clear Channel, Providence and Wachovia Corp., which is the main bank backing the transaction. Clear Channel had sued Providence, saying the private-equity firm was dragging its feet on closing. Providence, in turn, blamed Wachovia for balking on its commitment to provide financing for the deal, and the bank also filed suit.

The parties are ending the litigation tied to the TV-station deal.

"We are pleased that all parties were able to negotiate and agree upon the terms of a new transaction, and that the transaction has closed successfully," Wachovia said in a statement.

Providence declined to comment.

Providence's effective price is just over $1 billion after an additional $80 million in working capital was added to the transaction, according to a person close to the deal. Providence's equity contribution has been slashed by 28 percent from the initial transaction, to about $260 million, and the debt portion is 12 percent lower to $815 million. Wachovia, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS AG are providing the debt financing.

Goldman and UBS declined to comment Friday.

The TV agreement could bring modest relief to watchers of the separate buyout of Clear Channel. Friday's crisis at Bear Stearns Cos. injected fresh worries about whether the deal will go through, helping send Clear Channel shares down as much as 16 percent.