SAN ANTONIO – Clear Channel Communications Inc. (NYSE: CCU) announced that a preliminary tally of shareholder votes at a special meeting today indicates they have approved the telecommunications company’s planned $19.5 billion acquisition by a private equity group led by T.H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC.
As amended on May 18, the agreement calls for Clear Channel shareholders to receive $39.20 cash for each share they own, plus an additional per-share consideration if the deal closes later than Dec. 31. (The original agreement called for a cash payment of $39 per share.) Unaffiliated shareholders who prefer not to take the payout also were given the option of exchanging some or all of their shares of Clear Channel common stock, one-for-one, for shares in CC Media Holdings Inc., the new corporation formed to acquire the company; they also would receive the additional per-share consideration, if any.
Preliminary results indicate the holders of nearly 67.3 million shares of Clear Channel stock have elected to receive compensation in stock, Clear Channel said today.
At today’s meeting, the unofficial tally indicates, votes cast in favor of the transaction represented more than 73 percent of all shares outstanding and eligible to vote at the meeting and about 98 percent of the shares actually voted, Clear Channel said. All proxy cards and ballots were turned over to independent inspector Mellon Investor Services LLC, which will conduct the final tabulation and certification.
“We are pleased with the outcome of today’s vote,” CEO Mark Mays said in a statement. “On behalf of Clear Channel’s board of directors, I want to thank our shareholders and hard-working employees for their support throughout this process. We look forward to completing this transaction with T.H. Lee and Bain as quickly as possible.”
The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The deal is one of many being financed by securities firm Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg News reports.
San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications Inc. (NYSE: CCU) is a global media and entertainment company whose properties include local radio stations WHJY-FM, WHJJ-FM, WSNE-FM and WHJJ-AM. Additional information is available at www.clearchannel.com.
To learn more about Thomas H. Lee Partners, a growth buyout firm founded in 1974 that has about $20 billion under management, visit www.thl.com; to learn more about Bain Capital Partners LLC, a private investment firm founded in 1984 that has more than $40 billion in assets under management, visit www.baincapital.com.
