THE NEW iHEART EMERGES

HeartMedia has completed its restructuring process, reducing its debt to $5.75b from $16.1b.

The restructuring has resulted in iHeartMedia and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings separating and creating two independent, publicly traded companies. Clear Channel will continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CCO.

“iHeartMedia enters this next phase of growth as a multi-platform audio company with a vastly improved financial profile,” iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman said. “We are well-positioned to continue to innovate and offer cutting-edge technologies, products and services to our audiences and advertisers.”

Pittman also touted iHeart’s success with live events such as the iHeartRadio Music Awards and podcasts, which have blossomed via the acquisition of Stuff Media.

“We continue to technologically transform our offerings for both consumers, with whom we are interacting more broadly across platforms, and advertisers, to whom we are offering data and analytics solutions previously available only from key digital players,” he said.

“This is a very exciting time for audio, and iHeartMedia will continue to break new ground and unlock new opportunities across all platforms to reach audiences everywhere.”