Gear Discussion Forums > Gibson Basses
Dire financial situation at Gibson?
Dave W:
Another story from a business and finance site. Sounds even more serious.
Debt Holders Increasingly Anticipate Bankruptcy Filing
slinkp:
Would be a sad end of an era. If Gibson tanks for good, I'm certain that somebody would buy their name and trademarks and start making guitars based on the classic designs - likely overseas. Maybe some boutique models still made somewhere in the USA, who knows. It'd probably be a whole different company.
copacetic:
Does that mean Epiphone goes down with them? Most of their instruments are made in Japan, Korea and China?
Chris P.:
I guess brands like Fender and Gibson will never disappear. They'll just be taken over. Think about the years in the '80s when there were no US Fenders for two years... Somebody will buy Gibson, take on excisting layed off personnel, maybe not all, take over some machines, wood and buildings, maybe not all, and continue. Maybe less models, maybe no studio monitors. It will just go on and maybe people won't notice it that much...
Epiphone. It depends on how the company structure is. Uwe knows more about that. Strange: In Holland we have a different distributor for Music Man and Sterling By Music Man. Different companies, so they both chose their own distributor. Strange, cos together you are much stronger. Epiphone could be an own company with another board, ... I dunno.
Dave W:
Gibson isn't going down for good. Chances of the company being liquidated (Chapter 7) are close to zero. A Chapter 11 restructuring is what would happen if refinancing fails and/or HJ refuses to give up part of his equity as part of a pre-bankruptcy restructuring deal.
Gibson's guitar business (including Epiphone) is apparently profitable and steady after recovering from the 2015 sales debacle, so it's very unlikely that the US factories would close regardless of what happens. That's not where they're losing money. It's the expansions into other areas (mostly electronics) and the debt incurred in the expansions that's killing them.
Even if HJ were to retain majority ownership, he'll probably wind up being accountable to a board, which has never been the case up to now. Frankly, I hope his era comes to a close soon.
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