Sell, settle, sell

Clear Channel Communications’ Privatization Deal Is Near Collapse
The $19 billion privatization of Clear Channel Communications Inc. was near collapse as the private equity firms behind the deal and the banks financing it failed to resolve their differences over the terms of the credit agreement, people familiar with the matter said. The mood around the deal has darkened in recent days as the talks between the private equity firms –Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital Partners LLC –and the banks became mired in the details of the credit agreement, the people said. The banks that agreed to finance the deal include Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, RBS and Wachovia.
At issue are the details of the financing arrangements, the so-called credit agreement. Though banks in deals such as this agree to finance the transaction when it is first announced, the final terms that govern their obligations are usually not worked out until shortly before the deal closes.
“The sponsors do not want to do this deal,” said one person involved, referring to the private equity
Hollinger Inc. to pay $21 mil. to settle fraud charges: SEC
(Reuters) — Hollinger Inc. will pay $21.3 million to settle charges it engaged in a fraudulent scheme to divert money from the Sun-Times Media Group, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday. The SEC said Hollinger Inc. and former executives, including Conrad Black, diverted about $85 million from Hollinger International, now known as Sun-Times, to Hollinger Inc. and corporate insiders through purported “non-competition” payments.
Hollinger Inc, the controlling shareholder in Sun-Times, settled without admitting or denying the charges, the SEC said.
Fitch To Tribune: Sell, Zell, Sell
CHICAGO Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell’s new senior management team and cost-cutting measures are unlikely to outrace deteriorating revenue, making the sale of assets like the Chicago Cubs –and perhaps The Los Angeles Times and Newsday -­all the more critical, Fitch Ratings Service said in a report issued Tuesday.
Fitch kept its Issuer Default Rating (IDR) unchanged in junk territory at “B-,” and kept its “Negative Outlook.”
“Fitch notes that EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) deterioration combined with limited debt repayment has exhausted much of the room within the rating,” wrote analysts Mike Simonton and Jamie Rizzo.
The report follows Tribune’s release of weak first-quarter results. Publishing revenue fell 7%, and operating cashflow plummeted 30%, Fitch noted.
Tribune (NYSE: TRB) “management has taken steps that Fitch believes may bode well for the longer term health of the company by bringing in new leadership, communicating directly with the staff and experimenting with new revenue streams,” the analysts wrote. “Cost cuts announced and implemented in the first quarter should help somewhat, but Fitch notes that more action may be necessary to offset the rapid erosion of circulation and advertiser dollars.”
Tribune took on $8.2 billion in debt to swing the going-private deal engineered by Chicago real estate mogul Zell and completed in December.