“I’ve said for years that CCO is just a piggy bank that Bain/Lee have totally abused.”  Insider heard those words recently from an experienced investor and dealmaker.

Insider took a look at Clear Channel Outdoor’s financial statements to investigate this claim and the results were staggering.   Here’s what the equity funds  Bain and Thomas Lee have done in the nine years in which they’ve been in control of Clear Channel Outdoor.

• Cashflow is unchanged.
• Debt has doubled from $2.6 billion to $5.2 billion.
• Dividends and transfers to the parent have totaled $7.6 billion. That’s 2.3 times the $2 billion in capital expenditures which Clear Channel Outdoor spent over the past nine years.

Clear Channel Outdoor has some great employees and they deserve better.  Imagine how much better condition Clear Channel Outdoor would be in today if the owners had spent the $7 billion on tuck-in acquisitions and digital sign conversions and RADAR.      Here’s hoping for a quick spinoff to creditors or to a new set of owners who will invest for the future instead of running up debt to an unsustainable level in order to pay dividends.

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