Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, one of the leading radio broadcasters in United States, filed for bankruptcy protection as debts continued soaring amid collapsing advertising revenue.

As per bankruptcy protection document filed in Manhattan, Las Vegas-based Citadel listed total assets worth $1.4 billion against debts of $2.5 billion.

The company, which operates 165 FM stations plus 58 AM stations, said that it had hit an agreement with a majority of its lenders on the deal that would cut approximately $1.4 billion of its debt.

The deal will convert a loan of $2.1 billion into a new $762.5 million term loan. Senior lenders will receive 90 per cent of shares in the reorganized company.

The private equity firm Forstmann Little & Co is Citadel’s largest shareholder with 28.7 per cent stake in the company.

Citadel's CEO Farid Suleman said the business would go on normally and the company would try to come out from restructuring as soon as possible.