Citi rejects Terra's bid to restructure EMI's debt: Report

NEW YORK: Financial services major Citigroup has rejected UK-based private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners' bid to restructure music company EMI Group's debt burden, says a media report.

"Citigroup has rejected Terra Firma Capital Partners's latest bid to restructure EMI Group Ltd, as the music company's lender and its owner haggle over how to address its debt burden," the report by The Wall Street Journal said.

Attributing to people familiar with the matter, the report stated that Terra Firma had proposed to inject about one billion pounds (or USD 1.67 billion) into EMI in exchange for Citigroup forgiving a similar proportion of its 2.6 billion pounds of EMI loans.

Citigroup would have required to write off more debt than it was comfortable with, the daily said. However, it is unclear if and when Terra Firma intends to make a new offer.

Earlier this year, Terra Firma offered to inject 300 million pounds into EMI, an offer Citigroup also rebuffed, the report said citing a person familiar with the matter.

Citigroup became Terra Firma's sole lender after the credit crunch made it difficult to syndicate the debt to other investments when the 2.4 billion pounds deal was agreed to in 2007.