Citibank Takes Control of EMI

This just in from the AP…

LOS ANGELES (AP) Citigroup Inc. has taken over debt-strapped EMI Group Ltd., closing a disastrous purchase of the music label by Guy Hands, founder of British private equity firm Terra Firma.

The foreclosure by Citigroup, EMI's main lender, brings the label of British acts such as The Beatles and Pink Floyd under American control until a new buyer can be found.

The takeover had been long expected, but came more than a month before Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. officially defaulted on roughly 3.4 billion pounds ($5.48 billion) of borrowings it took on to buy the label in 2007.

Citigroup's move eliminates some uncertainty over EMI's future, and restructures EMI by reducing its debt by 65 percent to 1.2 billion pounds. Citigroup booked a 2.2 billion pound loss, while Terra Firma saw its 1.75 billion pound investment evaporate.

The agreement leaves EMI, which also represents Lily Allen, Katy Perry, Coldplay and dozens of other acts, with more than 300 million pounds of available cash, enough to fund its operations, and a sustainable level of debt.

For now, it won't have to rush into the arms of a financial savior, although companies like Warner Music Group Corp. and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts have been jockeying to buy the company.

EMI now has "the ability to invest in and grow its business," said Stephen Volk, the Citigroup vice chairman who will become the chairman of EMI's holding company, Maltby Acquisitions Ltd., in a statement. "This is a positive development for EMI, its employees, artists, songwriters and suppliers."

EMI's chief executive, Roger Faxon, said in a statement that the restructuring "has given us one of the most robust balance sheets in the industry."

Uncertainty over its future was seen as a major distraction for EMI, which in recent years lost business from the Beatles' Paul McCartney and rock band Queen.

The move also came after a jury in New York found in November that the U.S. bank did not fool Hands into buying EMI at an inflated price. Hands had testified that Citigroup dealmaker David Wormsley had misled him about the number of suitors for the label, while Citigroup said the accusations were an attempt to gain leverage in restructuring talks. Hands appealed the verdict earlier this month

* fun fact > DOES ANYBODY HERE REMEMBER VERA LYNN?

"Vera" is a song by Pink Floyd on the album The Wall. Vera Lynn is an English singer whose career flourished during World War II. She was nicknamed "The Forces' Sweetheart" and the song she is most known for is "We'll Meet Again" - one of the most famous songs of the Second World War era. The assertion that "we'll meet again" is optimistic, as many soldiers did not survive to see their loved ones again. The meeting place, at some unspecified time in the future, would have been seen by many who lost loved ones to be heaven.

The lyric "Vera, what has become of you?" suggests that Vera Lynn herself, like her promise, vanished. It suggests a loss of innocence and hope.

Vera Lynn also had a hit with "The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot", a song about a boy — like Roger Waters — without a father. The reference is ironic, as Roger Waters, or his fictional character Pink, would not meet his father who was lost in the war. Her recording of "The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" is the opening music that we hear at the beginning of the movie version of The Wall and aptly sets the theme of the film.

I can only hope that wars can be ended, families reunited and every little boy can have a Christmas with a Santa Claus.

* fun fact > WISH YOU WERE HERE

The album WISH YOU WERE HERE is a concept album centered around the breakdown and departure of Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd. It was mostly written by Roger Waters who had been childhood friends with Barrett.

During the recording of SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND Syd showed up at the Abbey Road studio with a shaved head and eyebrows. He had gained so much weight that he was unrecognizable to members of the band who thought he was an EMI employee. When Waters realized who the visitor was he started to cry, upset at how his friend had deteriorated. Syd offered his services to help on the album, but when listening to the track SHINE ON he failed to make any connection to the song that was ironically about him – Syd Barrett is the crazy diamond.

When he left the studio that day it was the last time any of his band mates saw him until his death in 2006.

* news > ROGER WATERS TO REVIVE THE WALL FOR A 2010 TOUR?

Here's the news The Dogg has been waiting for, Roger Waters’ manager has confirmed that Roger is looking at touring The Wall in 2010 & 2011. Currently eight cities are penciled in, but going by past experience this could well be expanded at a later date.

Nick Mason has not ruled out playing on the possible tour and when specifically asked about Roger's plans to tour The Wall next year he said he has not been officially approached to play and ruled out playing the entire tour, but he did not rule out guest appearances.

The last time that The Wall was performed was at the Berlin Wall. Roger Waters had previously stated in July 1989 that the only way he was to resurrect a live performance of The Wall was "if the Berlin Wall came down.”

Four months later the wall came down.

The resulting show had a sell-out crowd of over 250,000 people and before the performance started the gates were opened which enabled another 100,000 people to watch. The concert was broadcast to fifty-two countries as well as being released on CD and video.

Here is a recent David Frost interview with Roger Waters where he talks about The Wall, Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, his possible tour plans and making The Wall relevant to today.