The Mays Family, which built Clear Channel Communications into the country’s largest network of radio stations through decades of acquisitions, is in negotiations to be taken private by a consortium of investors for more than $18.5 billion, people involved in the talks said yesterday, the New York Times reports.

The investors, who have been in discussions with Clear Channel for months, include Providence Equity Partners, the Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, these people said.

The negotiations come as family- controlled media companies across the nation explore the possibility of selling their companies or taking them private. Cox Communications, the cable company based in Atlanta, went private in 2004. Cablevision, which is controlled by the Dolan family, is in the middle of negotiations to become private.

Clear Channel said yesterday in a statement that it was “evaluating various strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value.” The company has hired Goldman, Sachs & Company as its financial adviser.

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