Clear Channel, banks, buyers in settlement talks

Announced initially in November 2006, a group of holdout shareholders twice forced the equity partners to raise their offer and to allow some of them to continue owning a minority stake in the firm.

The delays in reaching financial terms and getting regulatory approval for the deal kept it pending as the credit markets seized up and banks, once eager to fund ever bigger leveraged buyouts, got skittish.

As deadlines approached for the deal to get completed, the equity firms and Clear Channel accused the banks of trying to sink the buyout by changing the loan terms, a charge the banks have denied.

Lawsuits accusing Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group, Wachovia Corp., Deutsche Bank AG and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC of tortious interference were filed in March.

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