Some of the largest lenders to the private equity groups that led the $23.8bn buy-out of Clear Channel Communications intend to turn down a proposed debt exchange, hoping to drive the radio and outdoor advertising company towards default.
The company, taken private in a leveraged deal that came to symbolise the excesses of the buy-out boom, has proposed a swap of some parent company debt for debt in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, its listed billboard division, regarded as a crown jewel despite the current steep advertising downturn.
