Buyout firms reject Clear Channel arbitration bid

PHILADELPHIA, April 22 (Reuters) - Private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners said on Tuesday they rejected an offer for binding arbitration from the banks which had arranged to fund the $20 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc CCU.N.

"This proposal is yet another disingenuous attempt by the banks to avoid living up to their commitments. The banks want to move this case into the back room because they fear that a public trial will clearly expose their misconduct," the private equity firms said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, the banks said they would agree to terms set through binding arbitration and they believed the situation could be resolved within six weeks.

The banks include Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Credit Suisse Group (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research), Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Wachovia Corp (WB.N: Quote, Profile, Research). (Reporting by Jessica Hall, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) (For more M&A news and our DealZone blog, go to here)