SAN ANTONIO — It took just about three weeks for the nation's biggest radio station operator, Clear Channel Communications Inc., to accept a buyout offer after announcing last fall that it was considering "strategic alternatives."

It took 10 more months for shareholders to finally approve the deal.

Yesterday they gave the OK to a $19.5 billion buyout offer from a private equity group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC. Among Clear Channel's holdings are KSSK and five other radio stations in Hawai'i.

The offer was first announced in November but was sweetened after some large shareholders signaled they would oppose earlier offers.

The latest offer was $39.20 per share in cash or stock in what would be a privately owned company. Current shareholders could end up with as much as 30 percent of the new company.

"We are pleased with the outcome of today's vote," CEO Mark Mays said in a statement. "We look forward to completing this transaction with T.H. Lee and Bain as quickly as possible."

Of the shares voted, about 98 percent were in favor of the buyout of the San Antonio-based company in a preliminary tabulation, Clear Channel said. The company said more than 73 percent of the total shares outstanding and entitled to vote at the meeting were in favor of the deal.

Two-thirds of shareholders had to approve the buyout, and those who didn't vote were counted as voting against it. Previous offers of $37.60 and $39 per share were deemed too low by some and weren't expected to pass.

The buyers also will assume $8 billion in debt.

Clear Channel, which also has an interest in the outdoor billboard business, has been divesting some of its broadcasting operation. Its 56 television stations were sold in April, and sales deals have been reached on more than 350 of its radio stations.