NY Post: Is There A Fight For CC Outdoor?

Are Lenders Gloves Off?

Are some of CLEAR CHANNEL's biggest lenders moving to grab control of CC's Outdoor division as the company is distracted with it's fourth debt restructuring plan? THE NEW YORK POST says yes, writing, "according to sources familiar with the matter, LEON BLACK's APOLLO MANAGEMENT and BLACKSTONE GROUP's GSO CAPITAL are quietly buying up shares in CLEAR CHANNEL OUTDOOR, the financially struggling company's publicly traded outdoor unit, in order to crimp the parent company's ability to keep using the outdoor unit as its personal ATM."

Sources told THE POST that the two investors "may be buying up the outdoor unit's shares in order to exert greater sway over negotiations involving CLEAR CHANNEL's debt."

On MONDAY (NET NEWS 11/9) CC MEDIA HOLDINGS reported results for its third quarter ended SEPTEMBER 30th. On the radio side, revenue was down to $703,232 from $843,943 for the quarter, a drop of 17%. Overall, the company reported revenues of $1.4 billion in Q3, a decrease of 17% from the $1.7 billion reported for the third quarter of 2008.

Next AUGUST, a $2.5 Billion loan matures that the Outdoor division put up for CLEAR CHANNEL. If Outdoor is controlled by ouside forces at that time, they could force CLEAR CHANNEL to make moves it would rather avoid. CLEAR CHANNEL has tried seveal times to restructure the debt, but met resistance from creditors who did not like the terms of those deals.

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