A bankruptcy court judge approved a settlement between iHeartMedia Inc. and the company’s largest creditor groups that will allow it to hire both Moelis & Co. and LionTree Advisors LLC as investment banks, but at a lower fee, according to court filings, WSJ Pro reported. The ad hoc group of term loan and priority guarantee noteholders and iHeart’s unsecured creditors’ committee have been fighting the company on hiring both Moelis and LionTree for months, arguing that two advisers aren’t needed and that their fees are too high. Under the settlement reached between the radio station operator and the creditor groups, the two firms capped their total fees at $67.5 million, with at least $10 million going to LionTree and $57.5 million going to Moelis, according to court filings. The two firms were set to earn around $90 million in total under their original fee applications. Moelis could have earned over $70 million under the original payment structure, including a $30 million fee paid upon confirmation of a chapter 11 reorganization plan and another $35 million fee paid if the company raised any debt or equity as part of a confirmed plan. iHeart filed for bankruptcy in March with a plan to slash $10 billion of its total $16 billion in debt at the company’s broadcast radio division. Judge Marvin Isgur of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston is overseeing the case.
