TPG Out of Clear Channel Auction

Texas Pacific Group unexpectedly dropped out of the running for Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU), thus leaving former consortium partners Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners in a major lurch. The group may still pull win the deal, but faces very stiff competition from a rival consortium made up of Blackstone Group, KKR and Providence Equity Partners. < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />