Last year, I posted an item on how the buyout firm Terra Firma had put its plan to securitize its purchase of EMI records. The original idea appears to have been to sell bonds backed by the future music royalty rights in order to pay for the acquisition of EMI. Last year, Terra Firma switched to licensing as its monetization strategy. Now, even that is in doubt. According to the Financial Times:
Terra Firma, the buy-out house run by financier Guy Hands, has written off half its €2.6bn (£2.3bn) investment in EMI, the music group, accepting the likelihood of losses on one of the most eye-catching deals struck during the credit bubble.
So, a deal that looked great two years ago is a loss today. Such is the state of the market - and of intangible asset values.
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