(Reuters) – “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest and his private equity partners have opted out of the auction of Dick Clark Productions, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Seacrest, along with Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, withdrew from the bidding process after an initial round of talks and subsequent due diligence, the Journal said.
Clark, who founded the company in 1957, sold his majority stake to Mosaic Media Group in 2002. Dick Clark Productions is now owned by Red Zone Capital, the private equity firm of Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.
None of the parties could be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Sunayan Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Dan Lalor)