EMI might not be in good hands but it will remain with Guy Hands. His company Terra Firma will hang onto EMI after a last minute funding raise has saved it from the evil clutches of Citibank. More discussion on this is at the Coldplay forum here onwards.
EMI chief Guy Hands has raised £105 million to keep the Citibank wolves from the EMI doors. EMI’s parent company Terra Firma was reported to owe Citibank £120 million this month but Citibank but the £105 million of new investment has settled them down.
The new investment also saves EMI from being bought by a competitor which most likely would have been Warner. Warner and EMI have been courting for years and have twice gone down the aisle with Warner being jilted at the altar on both occasions.
In common with much of the recorded music industry, EMI has been hit hard by illegal downloads and falling album sales. EMI's executive chairman, the former ITV boss, Charles Allen, said: "We are very pleased to have received this confirmation of an additional investment."
Guy Hands had been hoping to raise £360m ($532m), which would have seen EMI financially stable through to 2015. EMI is the current home of Coldplay, The Beatles and Gorillaz. However, in recent months Paul McCartney announced he was moving his back catalogue to Universal. Queen were reported only this week to also be contemplating a move to Universal.
Pictures of winning auction items (Jonny Buckland's VIVA guitar - Blacky) in the Coldplay end of decade clearout sale (by Jason-DeBord):
Pictures: Jason-DeBord
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