IB on why Boris blinked

WHY DID BORIS BLINK? There’s much speculation about why Len Blavatnik withdrew his bid for EMI’s recorded-music operation at the 11th hour, I.B. Bad notes in his detailed breakdown of the EMI sale, posting Friday morning. Some believe that his due diligence before he took ownership of WMG didn’t give him a good look under the hood, and that after subsequently coming to an understanding of how the business platform models out, he decided he didn’t want another music company that might not have the cash flow necessary to sustain the business. But according to an inside source, there was another reason: the bank from which the Russian billionaire had expected to borrow the money for the deal wouldn’t give it to him unless he was able to persuade Citi to assume all the risk during the regulatory process—and that didn’t happen. (11/17a)