A proposed pact immunizing the private-equity firms that own iHeartMedia Inc. from legal trouble will delay the radio broadcaster’s exit from chapter 11 until the new year, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The settlement involves iHeart’s most prized asset, billboard company Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. If approved, it would end litigation that accuses private-equity owners Bain Capital Partners LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. of taking advantage of Clear Channel for iHeart’s benefit. The agreement would also allow iHeart to pay $150 million to eliminate the $1 billion debt it owes to Clear Channel, iHeart said. Bain and THL have denied any wrongdoing. The proposed settlement arrived in what were supposed to be the final weeks of iHeart’s bankruptcy proceedings, which began in March when the radio-station operator filed for protection in an effort to ease its debt load. Instead of a chapter 11 plan confirmation hearing that was supposed to start on Tuesday in Houston, iHeart faces a series of hearings, starting next Monday and stretching into January. Judge Marvin Isgur will review the settlement and iHeart’s chapter 11 exit plan, which most creditors had considered a done deal until the settlement was introduced.
