Clear Channel made some big personnel news this morning, announcing that it has hired Bob Pittman as chairman of media and entertainment platforms. For the uninitiated, Pittman is the former CEO of MTV Networks and AOL Networks, plus served as COO of AOL and AOL Time Warner. He also runs a venture capital firm called Pilot Group.
Part of the arrangement involves a “significant” investment by Pittman into Clear Channel, which is majority-owned by private equity firms Bain Capital and THL Partners.
I’m told that the money does not come from Pilot Group, but rather out of a separate Pittman pool. In fact, it seems that the veteran tech exec chose Clear Channel instead of “raising” another Pilot Group fund (which would seem to be its third, although Pilot Group is rarely opaque when it comes to such matters). This doesn’t mean the end of Pilot Group or Pittman’s venture investing – dry powder remains, as does a legacy portfolio – but it does seem to mean a slowdown.
I’m hoping to speak later today with Pittman and/or a Pilot Group staffer, and will update this post if either of those conversations happen…
