Clear Channel Communications said Tuesday it has agreed
to acquire SFX Entertainment in a stock swap that values SFX
at about $4.4B, according to Liza Roberts of CBS
MarketWatch. The deal for $3.3B includes assumption of
$1.1B of SFX debt. Under the deal, SFX class A shareholders
will get 0.6 shares of Clear Channel common stock for each
of their shares, while class B shareholders get one share of
Clear Channel for each of their SFX shares. The deal gives
Clear Channel access to SFX's music venues in "nearly every
U.S. market where it owns and operates radio stations and/or
outdoor advertising properties, such as billboards." Clear
Channel operates 867 radio and 19 TV stations, reaching 120
million people weekly. It also operates more than 550,000
billboards and other outdoor ad spaces (CBS MarketWatch,
2/29). SFX spent "around" $1.5B on recent acquisitions. The
eal faces shareholder and regulatory approval (Mult., 2/29).
BRING $$ FOR THE SILLERMAN: On "Squawk Box," CNBC's
David Faber reported on the deal: "Common shareholders are
not making out nearly as well as [SFX CEO] Robert Sillerman.
... who has 2.33 million of the B shares, which are the
voting shares, which means you're not going to be able to
vote this deal down. Faber said that Sillerman has
"created a good deal of value and if you got in at the right
time as a shareholder, he's created a lot of value for you
as well. I think he benefited more than his shareholders.
... It's not a bad deal for [Clear Channel] either because
they end up spending less money ... for what is the
controlling amount of stock" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 2/29).
