DEALS: Clear Channel: Sale may collapse

Clear Channel Communications Inc., the biggest U.S. radio broadcaster, said its sale to private equity firms may collapse after banks financing the purchase failed to show up at a meeting scheduled to close the deal. Clear Channel can't estimate a closing date for the $19.5 billion transaction, the San Antonio-based company said Friday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Buyers Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP sued the banks in New York this week, and Clear Channel joined the private equity firms in a complaint in Texas.

Shareholder wants to buy out Corel

Corel Corp., the maker of WordPerfect and CorelDraw software, has received an unsolicited buyout offer from its majority shareholder. Vector Capital Corp., which owns 69 percent of the stock, is proposing to buy Corel's remaining shares at $11 each in cash, according to a statement Friday. That values the deal at about $84 million. The offer represents a 3 percent premium over Corel's closing price Thursday.

FINANCIAL: KB Home swings to quarterly loss

Los Angeles —- KB Home, one of the nation's biggest residential home builders, said Friday that it posted a loss in its first quarter as weak home sales forced a large write-down. For the quarter ended Feb. 29, the company posted a loss of $268.2 million, or $3.47 per share, compared with a profit of $27.6 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue tumbled 43 percent to $794.2 million from $1.39 billion last year.

Lionel cleared to leave bankruptcy

A bankruptcy judge has approved Lionel LLC's Chapter 11 reorganization plan, clearing the way for the iconic maker of model trains to exit bankruptcy. Judge Burton R. Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on Thursday confirmed Lionel's plan, which calls for private equity firm Guggenheim Corporate Funding and the estate of the late Martin Davis, former chairman of Paramount Communications Inc., to pump $59 million of new cash into the reorganized company. "We're very happy; this has been a long hard pull," Lionel CEO Gerald Calabrese said. "We expect to be out of bankruptcy by next week."

FOOD / BEVERAGE: Burger King weighs smaller locations

Burger King Holdings Inc. said it plans to start a Whopper Bar unit, which will focus on one of its featured menu items. The Whopper Bar will have a smaller menu than regular Burger King locations and will be located in areas with little space such as airports and casinos, spokesman Keva Silversmith wrote in an e-mail. Burger King will show the concept to franchisees in May and expects to start building the first by the end of 2008.

Starbucks to defy Calif. ruling on tips

Seattle —- Starbucks Corp. will not compensate its California baristas for tips they shared with shift supervisors, defying a San Diego Superior Court ruling last week. "The ruling would take away the right of shift supervisors to receive the tips they earn for providing superior customer service," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in a voice-mail message to employees Wednesday night. "I want you to know that we strongly believe that this ruling is extremely unfair and beyond reason." In the voice mail, a transcript of which was released by Starbucks, Schultz said the media "grossly mischaracterized" the coffee chain's standard practice of allowing shift supervisors to share in tips left for baristas.

LEGAL: Judge sides with Diller over Liberty

A Delaware judge ruled Friday in favor of IAC Chief Executive Barry Diller in a dispute with Liberty Media Corp. The judge decided that Liberty had failed to prove Diller violated an agreement by pursuing a plan to break the IAC/InteractiveCorp Internet conglomerate into five parts. Liberty Media owns about 30 percent of IAC's equity but controls about 62 percent of the voting power. Diller has handled Liberty's voting for years under an agreement. Liberty sued to reclaim those voting rights. The judge, Stephen Lamb, sided with Diller on the voting issue but said it was too early to decide whether IAC directors had met their fiduciary duties.

MANUFACTURING: Pentagon enlarges Osprey contract

Boeing Co. and Textron Inc. received a $10.4 billion contract for the V-22 Osprey that ensures production of 167 more of the aircraft through 2012, the Pentagon said Friday. The contract calls for building 141 of the planes for the Marine Corps and 26 for the Air Force. The Defense Department had 132 aircraft on order before Friday's announcement.

MEDIA: Papers' ad sales off 9.4% in '07

Newspapers in 2007 suffered their worst drop in print advertising sales since the industry started keeping records 57 years ago, with revenue plunging 9.4 percent. Sales fell to $42.2 billion, the Newspaper Association of America said Friday at its Web site. The drop was cushioned by a 19 percent increase in Internet ad sales to $3.17 billion.

REGULATORY: EU to investigate Nokia acquisition

Brussels, Belgium —- European Union regulators have opened an investigation into Nokia Corp.'s bid to buy U.S.-based digital mapmaker Navteq Corp. The European Commission said Friday that the probe is needed because an initial investigation found a combination of the companies could pose "serious" concerns about competition among companies that make navigable digital maps. Chicago-based Navteq is one of only two major producers of digital maps.

TECHNOLOGY: Supermarkets victim of 'malware'

Portland, Maine —- Unauthorized software secretly installed on servers in Hannaford Bros. Co.'s supermarkets across the Northeast and in Florida enabled the data breach that compromised up to 4.2 million credit and debit cards, the company said Friday. The Maine-based grocer confirmed a report in The Boston Globe that it told Massachusetts regulators about the link between the breach and the illicit programs, known as "malware." At least 1,800 cases of fraud have been linked to the data breach.

TRANSPORTATION: Northwest will charge for 2nd bag

Eagan, Minn. —- Northwest Airlines says it will begin charging $25 for a second piece of luggage for flights within North America. The charge goes into effect May 5 and applies each way on a round trip. Northwest's high-end frequent fliers and full-fare passengers can still check two bags without paying extra. Northwest will also start charging $50 for bags over 50 pounds. The old fee was $25.