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Clear group: landmarks

Landmarks

This chronology is indicative only. It covers -

Antecedents

1901 Foster & Kleiser (F&K) billboard business founded

1936 outdoor advertising group More O'Ferrall founded, later renamed More Group

1952 F&K acquired by WR Grace conglomerate

1959 F&K sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting (later Metromedia)

1962 F&K Phoenix and Fresno operations sold to Karl Eller, who forms Eller Outdoor Advertising

1965 Barry Ackerley buys Seattle's Obie Advertising (regional billboard company)

1972 F&K buys Houston Poster Advertising Co

Beginnings

1972 San Antonio Broadcasting Company acquires KEEZ-FM (now KAJA-FM) in San Antonio, Texas for US$125,000

1975 buys WOAI-AM

1978 Karl Eller sells billboard, newspaper and broadcast operations (Combined Communications) to Gannett for US$373m, later founds Eller Media

1981 Terry Jacobs founds Jacor

1982 Metromedia sells F&K billboards to Outdoor Advertising Associates but retains plant and management operations responsibility

1983 Ackerley Group buys Seattle SuperSonics for US$22m

1986 Metromedia sells F&K operations to GE affiliate Patrick Media

1986 San Antonio Broadcasting goes public as Clear

1986 buys Broad Street Communications Corporation, increasing holdings to six FM and six AM stations in seven markets

1988 buys WPMI-TV in Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida

1988 Evergreen Media established

1989 Clear buys television stations in Tucson, Jacksonville, and Tulsa

1989 creates sports division, Clear Channel Sports, for radio rights to broadcast certain NCAA sports events

1989 Hicks founds Capstar Communications

1990 Clear buys KSAS-TV in Wichita, Kansas

1991 buys 78-station affiliate Kentucky Network - news, sports and info network servicing radio stations

1991 GE Capital absorbs Patrick Media

1992 US regulatory changes

1992 new Federal Communications Commission duopoly rules allow ownership of two FM and two AM radio stations in a US market

1992 Clear buys WPTY-TV, a FOX television affiliate in Memphis, Tennessee

1992 buys radio stations in New Haven, Wichita, Richmond, and Tampa

1993 buys radio stations in San Antonio, Austin, Richmond, and Oklahoma City

1993 buys television stations in Memphis, Minneapolis, and Tulsa

1993 Zell/Chilmark takes control of Jacor for US$70m

1993 Steven Hicks founds SFX Broadcasting

1995 GE sells Patrick to Eller Media and Hellman & Friedman

1995 Clear buys radio stations in Houston

1995 buys television stations in Harrisburg and Jacksonville

Australian Radio Network

1995 buys 50% interest in Australian Radio Network (ARN) in Australia

1996 Telecommunications Act of 1996 passed

1996 Chancellor buys 12 stations from Colfax Communications for US$365m, eight stations from OmniAmerica Group for US$178m and 19 stations from Shamrock Broadcasting for US$395m

1996 Clear buys 49 radio stations in 20 US markets, inc WHYN AM/FM Springfield and WWBB-FM Providence/WWRX-FM Westerly RI from Radio Equity Partners

1996 buys 33.3% interest in the largest radio group in New Zealand

1996 Jacor Communications pays US$774m for Citicasters ten FM and four AM radio stations

1996 Jacor pays US$152 million for 10 radio stations in Noble Broadcast Group

1996 Steve Hicks leaves SFX Broadcasting, forms Capstar Broadcasting with HMTF

1996 Clear buys Heftel Broadcasting (Spanish-language radio network)

1997 Chancellor Media Group created when Chancellor Group merges with Evergreen in US$1.5bn deal and buys radio stations of Paramount

1997 Capstar buys SFX Broadcasting (71 stations) for US$2.1bn

1997 Robert F X Sillerman, executive chair of SFX Broadcasting, founds SFX Entertainment

1997 Clear buys Eller Media Company, Universal Outdoor (outdoor advertising)

1997 Jacor pays US$620m for 17 station Nationwide Communication

1997 Clear buys ABC Outdoor, Paxson Communications outdoor bulletin plant in Florida and 4,000 transit shelter displays in California from Metro Display Advertising

1997 buys 27 radio stations, inc Tichenor Media System Inc

1997 buys Paxson group's 43 radio stations

1997 Ackerley Group lists on American Stock Exchange

1998 Clear acquires Jim Gibbons Radio

1998 Clear buys More Group for £466m

1998 buys 38 radio stations, inc Dame Media (WGY/WRVE/WHRL Schenectady-Albany and 3 AM-3 FM in Utica) for US$85m

1998 Jacor gains six stations from CBS (KOME-FM KUFX-FM San Jose, KSD-FM KLOU-FM St Louis, WCAO-AM WOCT-FM Baltimore) in exchange for five Jacor stations to CBS (Columbus WLVQ-FM WAZU-FM WHOK-FM, Minneapolis KSGS-AM KMJZ-FM)

1998 Clear pays US$6.5bn for Jacor Communications radio holdings (204 stations), taking portfolio to over 450 stations

1998 buys 40% interest in Grupo Acir, largest operator of radio stations in Mexico

1998 Chancellor buys Capstar stations, becomes AMFM Inc radio station chain

1999 Clear pays US$23.5bn for AMFM, taking portfolio to over 900 stations

1999 required to sell AMFM 30% stake in Lamar Advertising Co

1999 buys Dauphin, European outdoor advertising company

1999 buys Urbamex outdoor media, Mexico and Spain

1999 buys Interstate Outdoor

1999 enters taxi advertising industry with acquisition of Taxi Tops

1999 buys Donrey Outdoor

1999 buys Procom advertising, Chile

2000 buys SFX Entertainment for US$4.4bn

Ackerley and Donrey

2000 buys outdoor assets of Taxi Tops and Ackerley Media

2000 Ackerley buys KJEO Fresno from Fisher Broadcasting for US$60m

2000 buys WWTI-TV Watertown , from Smith Broadcasting Group and WBGH Binghamton from Smith Television

2000 sells Miami/Ft Lauderdale and West Palm Beach billboard business to Clear's Eller Media Company for US$300m

2001 Ackerley sells Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise for US$200m to Seattle group led by Starbucks' Howard Schultz

2001 Clear buys Ackerley Group stations for US$850m

2001 buys Milani Concerti and Trident Agency in Italy

2002 sells Hispanic Broadcasting to Univision for US$3.5bn

2005 announces plans to spin off entertainment unit (SFX/Clear Channel Entertainment) and sell 10% stake in outdoor ad unit

2005 spins off entertainment unit as Live Nation

2006 Clear buys In-ter-space Services airport advertising group for US$81.3m

Clear agrees to be bought for US$18.7bn by Thomas H Lee Partners and Bain Capital consortium