The EMI Trial Resumes In A Manhattan Court

Guy Hands

The trial between TERRA FIRMA and CITIGROUP over the circumstances surrounding the purchase of EMI in 2007, continued in a MANHATTAN court YESTERDAY (10/25). TERRA FIRMA CEO GUY HANDS is claiming he was hoodwinked by his lender when he purchased EMI for $6.7 billion.

Last week, HANDS testified in U.S. District Court in MANHATTAN (NET NEWS 10/19) that his firm would not have bid on EMI if he'd known there were no other bidders.

HANDS then said the following day under cross-examination (NET NEWS 10/21) that "he couldn't cough up one shred of evidence to support his claim that his private-equity shop TERRA FIRMA was duped by CITIGROUP into ponying up more than $6 billion to acquire record label EMI three years ago."

With the trial in action again, HANDS surprised the courtroom with testimony that, "I'm dyslexic and dyspraxic." He said the diseases make his notes "illegible" and because of that, the contents of conversations he had three years ago with CITIGROUP's DAVID WORMSLEY were next to impossible to read. The lack of notes to refer to hinders HANDS' ability to remember three phone conversations he had with WORMSLEY, whom he accuses tricked him into making a $6.7 billion acquisition in MAY 2007 of EMI MUSIC.

THE NEW YORK POST reports HANDS, "has repeatedly stated during testimony that he made his bid 'solely based' on three conversations with WORMSLEY, who told him that rival bidder CERBERUS CAPITAL PARTNERS was hurriedly readying an offer of its own for EMI at around 262 pence per share. 'I've never kept notes. Even at university,' HANDS said in testimony YESTERDAY, "There's not really any point in my keeping notes."

« see more Net News