Fender Withdraws planned $150m IPO

[SalFromChatham]

Fender withdrew its planned IPO citing weak equity market conditions. Blessing in disguise.

[Alexrkstr]

Not to anyone's surprise, Fender withdrew their IPO. If you search on the forum, I stated earlier that it was a bad idea since there is no projected growth other than in Emerging Markets.

http://www.latimes.com/business/mone...,3510528.story

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

Guess we won't have to refer to Fender guitars as "Pre-IPO" anymore

[Dru Edwards]

It's only a matter of time...

[zabdart]

Good news! Maybe now Fender will just concentrate on making guitars and amplifiers instead of gobbling up every competitor in sight.

[jpd]

The man they hired away from Montana is charting a new course for Fender. It will surprise us all!

[Toby Walker]

This is a VERY interesting article.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/...ipo/?hpt=hp_c3

[Glennwillow]

Hi Toby,

That was EXTREMELY interesting! Thank you. I had no idea Guitar Center was in such a hole - $1.57 Billion -- and they are 1/6 of Fender's business. With Fender in debt and their biggest customer losing money and in major debt, that does not bode well for Fender.

Fender is such an iconic company, I hate to see this... I wish them well.

- Glenn

[zabdart]

I think there's a lesson to be learned here: in a truly free market, competition benefits everybody. When you try to "rationalize" the market by gobbling up every competitor in sight, your reach frequently exceeds your grasp.

[Alexrkstr]

Originally Posted by zabdart

I think there's a lesson to be learned here: in a truly free market, competition benefits everybody. When you try to "rationalize" the market by gobbling up every competitor in sight, your reach frequently exceeds your grasp.

I wish there was a "Like" button in forums.

[Fatstrat]

I wonder why they don't mention Musicians Friend. Isn't it basically the same company as GC?

[zabdart]

Originally Posted by Fatstrat

I wonder why they don't mention Musicians Friend. Isn't it basically the same company as GC?

I believe you're right. Just one more example of a business that got "too big for its britches."

[donh]

Originally Posted by Fatstrat

I wonder why they don't mention Musicians Friend. Isn't it basically the same company as GC?

One and the same: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Center

"Guitar Center's sister companies/subsidiaries incorporate Music & Arts Center, Musician's Friend, GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, Woodwind and Brasswind and Harmony Central."

All owned by Bain Capital, with the help of Goldman Sachs and CEO Larry Thomas, and all in massive debt.

[Fatstrat]

Maybe that explain why I ordered a guitar from MF in August 2011. And cancelled the order in Feb. 2012 when they failed to deliver after several missed project back order arrival dates. Maybe the MFG refused to send them any guitars until they paid up.