Guy Hands bounced back to dealmaking yesterday with a ?300 million bid for Chaucer, the Lloyd's of London insurer.  Mr Hands, who was humbled last week when his private equity firm Terra Firma lost control of EMI to its lenders, is understood to be targeting three further buyouts in Europe as part of his fightback.  Insiders said that Mr Hands, who sunk 30 per cent of two Terra Firma funds into the disastrous ?4.2 billion buyout of EMI in 2007, is confident that he can drag his under-water Terra Firma Capital Partners III (TFCP III) fund back to break-even. That fund has ?1.4 billion left to spend. It is understood that investors have asked Mr Hands to stick to medium-sized, solid buyouts to build up the portfolio's value with a minimum of risk.  Terra Firma lost ?1.7 billion on EMI and Mr Hands, who also lost a US court case in which he accused Citigroup, the music group's lender, of fraud, has only three years to turn TFCP III around.  However, the buyout boss, who lives as a tax exile in Guernsey, has made hundreds of millions of pounds for investors in the past and is understood to be confident he can raise another fund provided TFCP III breaks even.  Mr Hands's Terra Firma investment vehicle is understood to be one of two or three potential buyers to have made contact with Chaucer in the past week.  Trade buyers, thought to be from overseas, are also understood to have expressed an interest in Chaucer, which underwrites aviation, marine and property risks on the Lloyd's market. Chaucer also operates a specialist energy division and a motor unit that sells policies direct to the public through the Chaucer Direct brand.  Terra Firma has investments in a number of sectors including infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture and leisure, but Chaucer would be the private equity firm's first financial services company.  It is understood that Mr Hands held talks with a number of German banks about potential takeovers last year, but walked away because he believed that the assets were overpriced.  Chaucer was forced by the Takeover Panel yesterday to confirm the approaches after a sharp rise in its share price. Shares in the company, seen as a perennial bid target, have risen by 25 per cent in the past week.  Shares closed up almost 17 per cent, at 61?p, after Chaucer said that it had received "a number" of approaches but emphasised that there was no certainty that a firm offer would be forthcoming. That closing price values Chaucer at about ?335 million, but it is thought Mr Hands has offered closer to ?300 million - a 10 per cent premium to Chaucer's undisturbed share price.  Terra Firma's interest in Chaucer comes amid a flurry of dealmaking in the Lloyd's sector, which is