• by Wayne Friedman , May 30, 2006

CBS Radio has settled its lawsuit with radio personality Howard Stern, his agent Don Buchwald and Sirius Satellite Radio, Stern's current employer.

CBS sued Stern, Buchwald and Sirius in February after learning that Stern, who touted Sirius while still a CBS employee, would receive a stock bonus if Sirius subscribers grew to a certain target level.

Stern touting Sirus for almost year as a CBS employee, which didn't seem to be a concern to CBS until late in 2005 when CBS found out about the stock bonus.

CBS originally wanted Stern, Buchwald; and Sirius to return any financial benefits they received from using CBS Radio's air time to promote Sirius, including the value of a Sirius shares that Stern and Buchwald received for exceeding a target for subscriber increases by the end of 2005.

Stern's block of 34.4 million Sirius shares was originally worth $100 million at the time the deal was announced in 2004, but its value swelled to $200 million by the time Stern actually received the shares at the beginning of 2006, bringing the total value of his five-year deal to just under $600 million.

According to a press statement, Sirius will make a total payment of just $2 million. CBS Radio will also get payment for the recordings of CBS' "The Howard Stern Show." Other terms and conditions of the settlement weren't disclosed.

Stern has sad CBS was trying to "bully" him, calling the lawsuit a "personal vendetta" against him by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves.