(Reuters) - British private equity group Terra Firma (TERA.UL) will change its approach to investment and put 1 billion euros (741 million pounds) of its own capital into deals as it seeks to restore its reputation after the debt-laden takeover of EMI in 2007, the Financial Times reported.
Terra Firma will do away with the usual model of raising pools of money "blind" before choosing buyout targets and put its own capital alongside direct contributions from investors, FT said.
"Fifty per cent of the market now is not in blind funds. We all aim at being the biggest blind pool we can . . . The reality is you don't have to be a me-too," the newspaper quoted founder Guy Hands as saying.
The group's decision to use its own capital is intended to signal that it has the money to back deals, thanks to the strong profits made by the company in recent years, the newspaper said.
Terra Firma had sued Citigroup (N:C) accusing it of defrauding founder Hands into overpaying for music company EMI Group Ltd, a disastrous purchase that reflected the risk of buying debt-laden companies during the buyout bubble. Terra Firma dropped the lawsuit last year in the United States, but reserved the right to pursue the case in England.
Representatives of Terra Firma were not immediately available for comment outside regular UK business hours.
($1 = 0.8846 euros)