iHeartMedia Inc. won its fight against a group of senior lenders who were threatening to tip the media giant into bankruptcy unless the company rolled back a $500 million asset shift, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. A judge in San Antonio, Texas, ruled yesterday that iHeart was within its rights to transfer shares of its outdoor advertising unit beyond the creditors’ reach. The judge agreed with iHeart’s claim the move was designed to boost profitability by letting it buy back a chunk of its debt at a discount. “IHeart is not in default” and didn’t violate the terms of its loan covenants, Texas State Judge Cathleen Stryker said in the four-page ruling. She issued an order permanently blocking the dissident lenders, or anyone acting with or for them, from “issuing or threatening to issue” default notices or accelerating iHeart’s debt because of the stock reallocation. More than a dozen creditors, including multiple hedge funds, were poised to issue notices of default on at least 25 percent of the outstanding principal of four priority guarantee notes at the company, formerly known as Clear Channel Communications.
