Gibson Files For Bankruptcy Protection

Gibson Brands today announced it has filed for bankruptcy protection, under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The company hopes to refocus on the ‘manufacturing of world-class, musical instruments and professional audio products and the continued development of the Company’s portfolio of iconic, globally-recognised brands.

The company recently ceased development on Cakewalk SONAR DAW, and in February sold it to Singapore-based BandLab.

Gibson Brands has reached a “Restructuring Support Agreement” with holders of more than 69.0% in principal amount of its 8.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2018, and its principal shareholders, that clears the pathway for the continued financing and operations of the musical instruments business as well as a change of control in favor of those noteholders.

The filings will allow the Company’s Musical Instruments and Professional Audio businesses to continue to operate, including Giboson, Epiphone, KRK & Cerwin Vega brands.

 

Gibson says that it will emerge from Chapter 11 with working capital financing, less debt, and a leaner and stronger musical instruments-focused platform that will allow it to succeed.

17 thoughts on “Gibson Files For Bankruptcy Protection

  1. For years this bogus acquisition of tech companies, and then destroying them, all the time borrowing more money, can’t see why they haven’t insisted on chairmans dismissal, it’s gross incompetence!

  2. Corporations should be like dinosaurs and go extinct when the time is right, not the gods they think they are.

  3. Good, because I hate them.

    Henry ruined soooo many companies and destroyed so many great products and tools.

  4. They acquired and killed Oberhiem, Garrison, Epiphone, Baldwin, Teac, Cerwin Vega, KRK, Stanton, Onkyo, Poineer, Wurlitzer, Cakewalk, then illegally imported ebony wood from Madagascar and ignored environmental concerns. Gave children grief by unsuccessfully sueing a toy company for a guitar toy.

    1. How would suing a toy company for copying a trademarked design without permission or licensing give grief to children?

      Epiphone is doing just fine… very very not dead. Probably net’s almost as much as Gibson annually.

      Oberheim was bankrupt a second time when Gibson bought them? Trying to keep Oberheim going when M1’s and D50’s were the hot commodity… Keyboard players buying habits and market trends killed Oberheim, not Gibson. Is there any other synth builder that survived the DX7/M1/D50 releases without following suit?

      Many of the brands were crumbling when Gibson bought them. They have a knack for buying a brand name, that doesn’t have a currently viable business.

      They certainly did, however, kill Garrison. I honestly don’t know much about the Opcode purchase… won’t comment on that.
      Cakewalk… cool product, cool company… I’m not sure how healthy their business was when Gibson bought them though. Cakewalk seemed to be continually needing to hustle to try and get DAW market share after the switch from Cakewalk Pro 9 to Sonar. The Pro Tools boom @ version 5&6 and then Ableton Live, and then Reaper, and then Studio One just continued to carve into Cakewalk market share.

    2. You sure as heck got a very valid point there, Vo1t!
      Henry’s hands are synonymous with “disaster area”.

  5. Yes, this is all because of the arrogance of CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. Guitarists have been complaining for years about how the fit and finish of Gibson guitars has sunk to deplorable levels. As a keyboardist I have hated Gibson ever since they destroyed Oberheim and a fantastic technology the Oberheim team was working on. It was called F.A.R. Synthesis. And there were accounts that Juszkiewicz harassed the genius who was working on it using the legal system. Juszkiewicz deserves the worst that can happen to him.

    1. well I think it says a lot when companies like rondo produce better more economical les paul copies than the real thing for a 10th of the price.

  6. Note: they’re filing for protection. Loopholes that keeps megacorps, so they’re not going anywhere. BS get out free card.

  7. Henry J. gets what Henry J utterly deserves!

    I hope all the remaining non-guitar brands will somehow find their way into well-caring hands. People that nuture a sense of dignity and respect for the history and previous achievements of the respective brand. Unlike Henry J did….

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