EMI, the private equity-owned music group that is home to Coldplay and Lenny Kravitz, is considering offloading its pension fund and has held talks with Paternoster, Goldman Sachs and the Pension Corporation as potential new owners, The Times has learnt.

It is understood that Guy Hands, whose Terra Firma group bought EMI for £3.2 billion last year, is keen to shed the risks associated with the 22,000-member scheme, which is about £50 million in deficit according to actuarial calculations.

Only 585 existing staff are members of the final scheme, which was shut to new members in 2005.

A prospective buyout, which would follow a raft of similar recent deals, comes as talks have broken down between the pension fund's trustees and EMI over the need for a capital injection of as much as £170 million.

The trustees, led by Ian Smellie, the chairman, say they are worried about the impact of the £2.85 billion debt burden taken on by EMI at the time of the acquisition.

Trustees are also concerned about the impact of any asset sales Mr Hands might undertake.

Mr Smellie said the need for capital injection reflects the danger that EMI might not be able to support the fund. This is dismissed as a worry by the music group.

Talks between the two broke down a fortnight ago. Trustees have now called on the Pensions Regulator to intervene in the row.

Last night the Regulator said it was aware of the issues with the scheme but could not comment on the company specifics.

It acknowledged it had the power to force Terra Firma to inject capital into the scheme or impose a technical guarantee on the company that would shore up the rights of the fund if EMI gets into difficulty.

The breakdown of talks could mark a turning point in relations. Both parties originally told the Regulator they were discussing the fund last October.

In December, they almost reached a solution that would have seen the fund have equal standing with Citigroup, EMI's lender, in relation to upto £100 million of funds.

It is the latest blow to hit Terra Firma, which has suffered huge problems with the acquisition.

Mr Hands, who has faced an exodus of artists unhappy at the new owner, has already acknowledged that the takeover has been much tougher physically and emotionally than he expected.

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