Mubadala Capital Consortium to Buy Clear Channel Outdoor for $6.2 Billion
The all-cash take-private, first struck in February at $2.43 a share, heads toward a third-quarter close after clearing a stockholder vote and a CFIUS review.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO) pending sale to an investor consortium comprised of affiliates and/or certain investment funds advised by Mubadala Capital remains on track to close by the end of the third quarter of 2026, pending remaining customary closing conditions including review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Under the definitive agreement, the consortium will acquire all outstanding shares of Clear Channel's common stock, subject to certain exceptions, for $2.43 a share in cash, an all-cash structure that valued the out-of-home advertiser at an enterprise value of $6.2 billion and represented a 71% premium to its unaffected share price of $1.42 on October 16, 2025, the last trading day before media reports surfaced a potential deal. Stockholders approved the merger agreement at a special meeting on May 12, 2026.
"We believe this transaction delivers compelling value to our shareholders, strengthens our financial flexibility by reducing debt and increasing cash flow to invest in the business, and positions Clear Channel for its next phase of long-term growth," said Scott Wells, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel. Oscar Fahlgren, Chief Investment Officer of Mubadala Capital, framed the deal as consistent with the firm's approach of targeting "high-quality businesses where complexity creates opportunity and long-term partnership drives value".
Clear Channel arrives at the deal with a business still working through a multiyear portfolio overhaul. Second-quarter revenue rose 8.7% to $438.0 million and Adjusted EBITDA climbed 11.6% to $143.4 million, with both the America and Airports segments benefiting from advertising tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even as the company posted a net loss of $5.0 million for the quarter. On August 4, 2026, Clear Channel completed the sale of its Spain business for roughly $132.3 million, proceeds it intends to apply toward debt reduction subject to the outcome of the merger, continuing a divestiture campaign that already shed its Europe-North segment to Bauer Media for $625 million in January 2025 and its Brazil business to an Eletromidia affiliate that May.
The deal has also reshaped Clear Channel's capital structure ahead of closing. The company issued conditional redemption notices for its 7.750% Senior Notes due 2028 and 7.500% Senior Notes due 2029 and amended its credit agreements so the merger will not trigger a change-of-control provision, while a separate consent solicitation sought to add Mubadala Capital and TWG Global affiliates as "Permitted Holders" under its senior secured note indentures. Upon closing, the amended receivables-based credit facility will extend its maturity by five years and lift revolving commitments to $250.0 million from $200.0 million.
The transaction originated in February 2026 as a competing-bid contest: Clear Channel had a 45-day "go-shop" period that expired March 26, 2026, during which it could solicit superior proposals, including from a group led by JPMorgan Chase Bank and Apollo Funds, before proceeding with the Mubadala-led consortium. Morgan Stanley and Moelis & Company advised Clear Channel, with Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel; Guggenheim Securities and J.P. Morgan Securities advised Mubadala Capital, with Freshfields as legal counsel.
With the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period having expired in April 2026 and the stockholder vote behind it, the remaining condition is CFIUS clearance tied to the foreign-backed consortium, after which Clear Channel's common stock will no longer trade on any public market.