iHeartMedia has completed their restructuring process, including a balance-sheet reshaping that cuts company debt to $5.75B from $16.1B. In connection with its emergence from restructuring, the company fully separates from Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO), which will continue to trade on the NYSE.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings is the holding company for Clear Channel International (CCI), which covers markets across Asia, Europe and Latin America, and Clear Channel Outdoor Americas (CCOA), which includes markets in the United States and Caribbean. The two will continue to operate as separate business divisions with Scott Wells continuing to lead Clear Channel Americas as CEO.
William Eccleshare, Worldwide CEO of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, will mark the new chapter for the company by ringing the opening bell above the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange on May 2. The stock traded today and was down 2.25% by the end of the day.
“Today marks a significant milestone for our company. This new chapter provides us with the mandate and stability to continue to invest in the transformation of out of home, while ensuring that we continue to hold our position as a market leader in a fast moving and dynamic industry,” Eccleshare said.
“I am excited to lead Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings as we embrace our new-found position as an independent company, and build on the strong results both our CCI and CCOA divisions delivered last year.”
CCOH is one of the world’s biggest outdoor advertising companies with more than 450,000 displays in 31 countries worldwide, and in 2018 had revenues of $2.72 billion.
Insider’s Take – We have said all along this is great news for Clear Channel. iHeart was a hinderance to CCO operations, imposing punitive royalties and forcing the sale of assets to upstream cash to keep the iHeart house of cards from collapsing. Clear Channel has a new board of directors in place and the ability to plan a future that will fully benefit the business and their shareholders.
[wpforms id=”9787″]
Paid Advertisement
