IN BRIEF

NEW YORK

Equity group upset by Clear Channel suit

Providence Equity Partners said Sunday it was "surprised and disappointed" by a lawsuit filed Friday by Clear Channel Communications Inc. to force the private-equity firm to close a purchase of Clear Channel's television stations.

Clear Channel said in the lawsuit that Providence has dragged its feet in the $1.2 billion deal for the TV stations, a deal Providence has sought since October to renegotiate. A spokesman for Providence said Sunday the firm has been conducting negotiations amicably to "work out a mutually acceptable arrangement in difficult market conditions."

The deal for the 56 TV stations may not be over, as the two sides may be negotiating through the courts. But Clear Channel believes it can sue to compel Providence to complete the deal, while Providence believes it can't be forced to close the deal.

The TV-station deal is separate from the $19.5 billion sale of Clear Channel to Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, and the suit isn't expected to delay that buyout.

In the lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court, Clear Channel wants Providence to complete the deal. But Providence said it was caught off guard by the lawsuit.

Providence believes Clear Channel has violated the TV-station pact and the firm now believes it doesn't owe a $46 million fee if the deal falls apart.

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran launches bourse to trade oil products

Iran established its first oil products bourse Sunday in a free trade zone on the Persian Gulf Island of Kish, the country's oil ministry said.

A statement posted on the ministry's Web site said 100 tons of polyethylene consignment was traded at the market's opening on the island, which houses the offices of about 100 Iranian and foreign oil companies.

Oil and petrochemical products will be traded in Iranian rials, as well as all other hard currencies, the statement quoted Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari as saying. About 20 brokers are already active in the market, it said.

Iran produces more than 20 million tons of petrochemical products per year.

Iran has already registered for another oil bourse, in which it has said it hopes to trade oil in euros instead of dollars, to reduce any American influence over the Islamic Republic's economy.

SAN FRANCISCO

Microsoft bid may be gaining traction

Momentum seems to be shifting toward Microsoft Corp. in its high-stakes bid to buy Yahoo Inc., analysts said.

Although some Yahoo shareholders have called for Microsoft to raise its buyout offer, not all are yodeling for a much higher price. That's because nearly 90 percent of Yahoo's institutional shareholders, including most of the top 20, also hold Microsoft stakes, according to report released by RiskMetrics Group, a financial risk-management company.

Meanwhile, Yahoo seems to be running out of alternatives. No competing bids have emerged. News Corp. appears to be the last option on a shrinking list being considered by Yahoo as a means of evading Microsoft's clutches.