IHeartRadio owner files for bankruptcy, but you won't feel it

The agreement, said CEO Bob Pittman was a big accomplishment, as it allowed the company to address the over $20 billion in debt that it is burdened with.

The two private equity firms were the leads in the leverage buyout of $17.9 billion from what was at the time Clear Channel Communications in 2008, at a time when the buyout boom had started to fade and as signs of the soon to hit financial crisis were beginning to emerge.

IHeart's Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. unit, which is 90 percent owned by the bankrupt company, wasn't included in the filing.

Pitman promised that "a capital structure that finally matches our impressive operating business will further enhance iHeartMedia's position as America's No. 1 audio company". The first filing in the bankruptcy case as well as a docket filled with dozens of additional documents put forward on March 14 and 15 are accessible below.

iHeart, formerly known as Clear Channel, is the nation's largest radio company, with more than 850 stations. Performance rights organizations ASCAP and BMI are each owed slightly over $1.4 million while Global Music Rights is looking at a $2 million debt. "They're going to pay their bills", Crystall says.

The restructuring comes just days after the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards. That deal led by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP closed just as a financial crisis began to undermine the US economy.

Under the company's debt-cutting deal, holders of secured loans and secured notes, who are owed almost $13 billion, agreed to accept about $5.6 billion in new debt and 94 percent of the equity in a reorganized iHeartMedia, according to court documents.

IHeartMedia skipped a $106 million interest payment on February 1, triggering a 30-day grace period during which the company has tried to hammer out a deal with it bondholders. That set up a 30-day "grace period" before triggering a default, which forced the company to declare bankruptcy. John Malone's Liberty Media has made an offer for IHeart's radio interests. This has come amid declines in the radio ad business and growing competition from streaming rivals like Spotify and Pandora.

In a statement, the company said it was hoping to maintain business as usual during the bankruptcy.