By Dietrich Knauth

NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Radio station operator Spanish Broadcasting System, owner of three of the top six Hispanic stations in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on Monday after reaching an agreement to eliminate $240 million in debt.

SBS owns 17 radio stations and also operates AIRE Radio Networks, which syndicates programming to over 250 Spanish-language affiliate radio stations in 79 U.S. markets. SBS also owns MegaTV, a network television company based in Florida, and digital properties, including the music apps LaMusica and HitzMaker.

SBS said its bankruptcy will not impact its customers, operations or audience, and the company will continue to pay vendors as normal. The bankruptcy agreement will cancel existing equity shares and turn over new equity shares to the company’s lenders.

SBS lenders have agreed to reduce the company’s debt from $310 million to $70 million, according to the company’s court filings. Over 90% of the company’s lenders have signed on to the deal, and SBS will seek court approval of the debt restructuring within 55 days, according to court filings.

SBS, headquartered in Miami, Florida, was founded in 1983. Most of its revenue comes from the sale of airtime to local, national, and network advertisers. SBS’s Mega 97.9 station in New York City is the most listened-to Hispanic radio station in the world, the company said.