Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and the Mays family score a major media coup . Now that hedge funds are monitoring the blogosphere for key memes against which to trade it only makes sense that the private equity firms should lend a hand by financing the new new consolidation of media. Since behavioral finance is the now dominant paradigm, and sentiment analysis now the rage, why not maximize by creating a perfect black box? You.

Clear Channel, the No. 1 U.S. radio station operator, said on Thursday it would be acquired by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and the company’s founding Mays family for nearly $19 billion.

Clear Channel, which operates 1,100 radio stations, is selling at a time when the radio advertising market is weak, and listeners are migrating to digital music, Internet media and satellite radio, hurting radio broadcasters.

The private equity firms, which have also pursued other large media properties this year, agreed to buy Clear Channel for $37.60 a share, a 16 percent premium to the $32.35 closing share price on Oct. 25, when the company said it was looking at strategic alternatives.

full