EMI pension in £200m talks with Citi

The US bank Citi has started talks with EMI's pension trustees to put cash into the scheme, which could cost it up to £200m.

Although Citi has agreed to sell EMI's recorded music and publishing divisions, the bank had to take on the pension liabilities.

According to EMI's most recent results, the deficit is £125m. In 2010, while owned by Guy Hands' Terra Firma, it agreed to fund the scheme to the tune of £197m over six years.

Citi lent Mr Hands the bulk of the money for his 2007 purchase of EMI, known for artists such as The Beatles and Kylie Minogue, and subsequently took control in the aftermath of a bitter legal battle.

The trustees are running a valuation of the fund's assets and liabilities – nearly £1bn and more than £1.1bn respectively – as the existing deal must be replaced. A source close to Citi warned it would provide no more than £200m, and that a figure closer to the reported deficit was possible.