Hands goes after Citi again

OH, NO, NOT HIM AGAIN! Don’t look now, but Guy Hands has launched legal action against Citigroup over the way it wrested control of EMI from him seven months ago, the Guardian reports. Hands’ Terra Firma has filed legal action in the high court seeking to force Citi to provide full evidence as to why it took control of EMI in February. A source close to Hands says that the financier has been seeking information from Citi about the grounds under which it was able to exercise taking control as well as the valuation attached to EMI. Hands believes that all payments on debt had been maintained up until Citi took control, although EMI was expected to break a test of its banking covenants at the end of the first quarter. A procedural hearing is understood to have taken place on Tuesday, when an application for information was made by lawyers representing Terra Firma. Hands had been fighting a rearguard action to attempt to hold on to EMI. In January, he lodged an application to challenge a verdict delivered last November after a New York jury cleared Citi of tricking him into overpaying for EMI. Second-round bids are due this week, and the auction was expected to be finalized in October, but that time line could be altered now that pesky Guy has thrown a spanner in the works. (9/7a)