Moody's may still lower Clear Channel

Moody's Investors Service said that Clear Channel Communications, Inc.'s announced today that the clear Channel shareholders had approved the adoption of the merger agreement with the private equity group co-led by Thomas H. Lee Partners, LP and Bain Capital Partners, LLC.

Moody's said it expects the company's pro-forma leverage to increase substantially as a result of the proposed $19.6 billion acquisition of the company by the private equity group and expects the post acquisition company to have significantly weaker credit metrics, likely resulting in a several notch downgrade in the company's ratings.

While Moody's said it believes that the merger has a greater likelihood of closing given the shareholder approval, it notes that the transaction is yet to receive regulatory approvals including FCC and antitrust clearances and remains subject to customary closing conditions and as a result, the agency has left the company's ratings under review for possible downgrade.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.