Apple announces Beatles on iTunes
The entire collection of the Beatles is now available on iTunes for the first time ever. REUTERS

British music company EMI Group said that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) has seized control of the company from struggling financier Guy Hands, in a move that it will probably lead to the sale of EMI.

Specifically, EMI said that after Citigroup acquired 100 percent of its share capital, the U.S. banking giant closed a recapitalization that reduced EMI's debt load by almost two-thirds to £1.2 billion from £3.4 billion.

EMI said it now has more than £300 million of cash available.

EMI was acquired from Hands’ leveraged buyout firm, Terra Firma.

The new capital structure provides EMI with the financial strength and flexibility to continue delivering on its strategy to maximize value for the artists and songwriters it is dedicated to serving, the company stated.

Despite the huge debt load EMI had been carrying, the company has an extremely valuable catalogue of songs, including those by The Beatles.

According to the Wall Street Journal, EMI is expected to fetch a price of about £1.8 billion from suitors.

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