Without the divestiture, the merger would have led to a loss of head-to-head competition and increased prices for radio advertising, the department said. The estimated value of selling the 99 stations is $3.4 billion. The merged company will own or operate 898 stations.
Clear Channel, based in San Antonio, and AMFM, which has headquarters in Dallas, will sell the majority of the radio stations in the divestiture plan before the merger takes place.
The department says it will file a complaint in federal court seeking resolution of competitive issues and will later file a proposed consent decree to resolve the issues.
Clear Channel reported net TV and radio revenues of $1.4 billion last year, while those of AMFM were $1.7 billion.