iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia's March 2018 bankruptcy collapsed America's largest radio broadcaster under $20 billion in debt from a 2008 LBO by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners. The private equity buyers paid $36 per share at the peak of radio advertising; by bankruptcy, shares were worth pennies. Radio advertising had declined 50% from peak as digital alternatives captured attention. iHeartMedia emerged from bankruptcy in 2019 with debt cut from $20 billion to $6 billion, but still faces secular decline of broadcast radio.