U.S. radio company iHeartMedia Inc. today filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list its Class ‘A’ common shares, as it nears bankruptcy exit, Reuters reported. The company did not disclose the number of shares it was offering, or set a price range, but said it will have two classes of shares. It just set a placeholder amount of $100 million to indicate the size of the IPO, although that can change. Last March, the company collapsed into bankruptcy after it took a debt in 2008 to finance a nearly $18 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc., the world’s largest billboard company. In January, iHeartMedia said that its reorganization plan, which includes separation from Clear Channel, was confirmed by the bankruptcy court. It added it will emerge from chapter 11 through a series of transactions, debt raising, and issuance of new class A and B shares. The company expects to use the net proceeds from its IPO to pay off its debt.
