Stop Trading!

Return to Article

Jim Cramer's 'Stop Trading!': Clear Channel Deal's Bad for Banks

TheStreet.com Staff

The banks that funded private-equity firms Bain Capital and Thomas Lee's purchase of Clear Channel CCU are in trouble, Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Stop Trading!" segment Friday.

"The banks are going to owe billions and billions of dollars," Cramer said. "There is no explanation for why these banks who made this deal ... are backing away." Cramer said there has not been a material change at Clear Channel. "These banks are going to be on the hook if this deal doesn't go through." He said that Clear Channel has outperformed other radio companies such as Cumulus CMLS and CBS Radio.

"Private equity is going to make a fortune," Cramer said. "I think there'll be emails that come out from the bankers [saying] 'Look, we gotta get out of this deal.'" The banks are feeling buyer's remorse, he said, but "there was no way to get out of this contract." He says the banks won't be able to walk away from the deal.

Cramer said he believes that lawyers will be able to show in court that Clear Channel is worth billions of dollars, and the banks will be forced to pay that sum. "Banks are not the most popular and sympathetic defendants," he said.

Moving on to the broader stock market, Cramer decried "raids" by short-sellers. He noted poor stock performance by Washington Mutual WM and Wachovia WB as examples of short pressure.

Cramer said that if he were a short and were allowed to trade he would use all the firepower he could to take the banks' stock down to levels that would frighten investors, causing further selling. He suggested that the government may reinstate the "uptick rule" that regulates short-selling.

"I love shorts," Cramer said. "I was a short-seller." Still, he said he believes the current system is unfair. "You should not be able to cause a panic yourself. ... The short-selling community is trying very hard to shut me up."