Clear Channel Holding Settlement Talks

05/12/08 - 03:45 PM EDT

C (Action Alerts PLUS PICK) CCU CS DB MS RBS WB

Shares of Clear Channel Communications (CCU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) rose 9.5% Monday after the company said it's holding settlement talks with a group of banks that had balked at funding its acquisition by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital.

The private-equity firms had filed a lawsuit against the banks earlier this year, and a court proceeding pending in Texas that was scheduled to get underway Monday was postponed until Tuesday.

"No settlement has been reached by the parties and there can be no assurance that any settlement will be reached," Clear Channel said in a brief statement. The company said it wouldn't comment on potential settlement terms or the likelihood that a deal will be reached.

Shares of Clear Channel were recently up $2.85 at $32.85.

Citigroup (C - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Morgan Stanley (MS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Wachovia (WB - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Credit Suisse (CS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Deutsche Bank (DB - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) are in the group.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, citing people who had knowledge of the situation, reported that the banks would agree to fund the takeover at $36 a share, down from the earlier price of $39.20, making the purchase worth about $18 billion.