Private equity firm Terra Firma has launched a lawsuit against Citigroup, the bank that financed its acquisition of EMI in 2007.
It’s accusing the bank of misrepresenting “fundamental facts” about the process leading up to the sale – including the existence of other bidders and how much they would have paid. The news comes weeks after Terra Firma tried to convince Citigroup to write off £1 billion of loads in exchange for Terra Firma injecting a similar sum in new equity.
The stakes are high: yesterday, the Observer described “fears within Terra Firma that EMI could default on interest repayments to Citigroup”, which could lead to the bank being forced to take over the business.