EMI Investors Will Get Money Back

Investors who lost money on EMI will get it back, according to Terra Firma chief Guy Hands.

In a letter to those who lost fortunes when Terra Firma Capital Partners III, which dropped £5.4 billion ($8.7 billion) on the EMI deal, he said he was “hopeful” the fund’s other investments would make up for it.

He also admitted it’ll be a difficult task, particularly since Citigroup forced him out of the debt-ridden music company.

“Given the substantial investment by TFCP III in EMI, this will not be easy, but we are encouraged by the prospects of our other investments in the fund and the potential acquisitions that our team are evaluating,” he wrote.

He also said he was “disappointed” he couldn’t cut a deal with Citigroup that would have involved Terra Firma putting more equity into EMI in return for the bank writing down part of the debt.

The roughly $6.8 billion purchase of EMI was TFCP III’s single biggest investment. The fund was established in 2007 with 159 investors providing the lion’s share of the money.

The other TFCP III investments that Hands is relying on include aircraft leasing company Pegasus, which it acquired in 2009 for $3.6 billion, Australian beef company CDC, and U.S. energy company EverPower.