HOUSE NOT CLEAR CHANNEL’S HOME YET

Insiders tell HITS that House of Blues wants a 100% guarantee, or indemnity, on the terms of Clear Channel’s proposed buyout deal. This means that whether the deal goes through or not, Clear Channel will owe House of Blues the full agreed upon purchase price.

Clear Channel has not yet gotten government approval for the deal and may very well need to sell off parts of the company to satisfy regulators. Cash-strapped House of Blues is reportedly concerned that if they agree to the deal, regulatory approval could take up to six months.

Meanwhile, Fred Rosen’s Key3Media Group is said to still be alive in negotiations.

Indeed, if Clear Channel were to get cold feet based on HOB’s demands, the bidding again could very well open up to others as well.

The HOB news comes on the heels of a recent restructuring at Clear Channel Entertainment, which comes at a very precarious time for the concert monolith. Promoters, agents and managers are currentlymounting big summer tours, and word of CCE’s revamping is reportedly complicating negotiations.

Earlier this week, CCE chief Brian Becker deposed music CEOs Rodney Eckerman and Irv Zuckerman, and is expected to up Clear Channel VPs Dave Lucas and Don Law to replace the outgoing duo.

Zuckerman came to CCE when his promotion firm Contemporary Prods. was acquired by Clear Channel (when it was still SFX). Eckerman joined when SFX acquired Pace Concerts.