Terra Firma vs. Citi Trial: Guy Hands Has Memory Troubles, Says 70% Of Wealth Tied To EMI

During the ongoing Terra Firma vs. Citi trial over the purchase of EMI in NYC yesterday, invesment group head Guy Hands had some memory troubles, but managed to recall telling EMI staffers that 67 to 70% of his personal wealth was tied up in the label group. He revealed the figure in a meeting with EMI staff in September of 2007 leading lawyers from Citigroup, who spent most of the day questioning the executive, to infer that Hands’ motivation in suing Citi was to recover lost wealth.

On other matters, Hands' memory was more selective. To many questions, he replied that he had no recollection at all. But Hands claimed to have perfect memories of three phone calls with Citi over the same period. "It seems a little weird to me that he phoned you three times and said the same thing three times," said Citi lawyer Ted  Wells. "But when it comes to a meeting about putting up £4bn, you don't recall anything."

Hands response: "Going through 160 pages of a report is not memorable."