Stay tuned... (UPDATED - Gibson files Chapter 11)

[Dave W]

If we get some basses from Gibson under the new management, fingers crossed, I wouldn't mind paying a little extra if the quality of the product improves. Leave it to Epiphone to pander to the masses for low cost options.
I don't actually believe more long scale Les Paul basses could have helped Gibson's predicament. I just wish there were still more in the market now that I'm gassing for a backup.

Whatever basses they offer, they need to inspire buyers. I recently played a walnut finish 2018 SG Standard Bass and the tone was about as blah as it could be, finish was laid on thick and didn't feel right, and somehow the A string had way less volume even though the setup looked fine. Blah.

[Dave W]

Further filings have been made in the bankruptcy and have gooten preliminary approval: debtor-in-place financing, restructuring plan, ability to continue paying workers and servicing warranties, etc.

Meanwhile, GC weighs in:
Guitar Center issues Gibson statement

[uwe]

https://store.gibson.eu.com/de/


Better late than never I guess. They are now doing online retail in Europe.

[Dave W]

https://store.gibson.eu.com/de/


Better late than never I guess. They are now doing online retail in Europe.

Whatever it said when you posted this less than two hours ago, it's now a Page Not Found.

[uwe]

Perhaps it's blocked from the US, it works fine here, an online retail site pretty much in the trad. Gibson Brands Home Site look. The only bass on offer for ordering is the 2018 SG.

[westen44]

Page Not Found for me, too. 

[uwe]

US sanctions I guess.

[amptech]

Nicht gefinden aus Norwegen.

[Dave W]

I suspect Frau Merkel is behind this. Or maybe Tracey Ullman.

[Dave W]

Today's update: Breaking: Gibson Guitar Structures a $135 Million Bankruptcy Lifeline

Philips and some other unsecured creditors had objected to the DIP (debtor-in-possession) financing proposed in the original filing. There were some revisions but the re's now a final DIP order.

The last paragraph of the article is ridiculous and false. Guitar sales are not plunging in the US.

[Grog]

And we don't want to necessarily replace our Gibson with a cheap guitar from China..........

[Dave W]

Wall Street Journal article yesterday: https://www.wsj.com/articles/creditors-probe-gibsons-pre-bankruptcy-dealings-with-lenders-1530298312

Creditors Probe Gibson's Pre-Bankruptcy Dealings With Lenders
Blackstone and KKR affiliates face questions from creditors of guitar company

By
Peg Brickley
June 29, 2018 2:51 p.m. ET

Creditors are stepping up a probe of guitar-maker Gibson Brands Inc.'s pre-bankruptcy dealings, looking for signs the troubled company favored senior lenders, including  affiliates of private-equity giants Blackstone Group and KKR & Co.

Blackstone's GSO Capital Partners LP and KKR Credit Advisors (US) LLC are among the largest secured lenders to Gibson, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 1, with $475 million in secured debt.

In a bankruptcy court filing Thursday, the official committee representing the company's unsecured creditors asked the Nashville-based guitar maker, GSO Capital and an informal bondholder committee with KKR as its largest member for documents detailing what happened as the company struggled to stay out of bankruptcy.

KKR declined comment on the investigation. GSO also declined to comment. Gibson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Testing the liens that anchor secured loans is a routine part of corporate bankruptcy, but such questions take on special urgency when unsecured creditors face an uncertain fate, as in the Gibson case.

Creditors are looking for grounds to challenge the secured status of the loans, which would give them leverage in talks about how to rework the company's balance sheet and get it out of bankruptcy. They face a July 8 deadline to state their formal objections to the secured claims, but said in court papers this week that the investigation will take until early September.

Gibson's bankruptcy filing followed lengthy negotiations and a struggle to wring profits out of its consumer electronics division, which sells Philips-branded headphones and speakers.

The company's owners, Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman, negotiated with secured bondholders for months in advance of the bankruptcy filing.

Among the topics Gibson's creditors want to probe is the decision-making behind the 2014 acquisition of the Philips consumer electronics business, court papers say. Creditors also want to know about talks concerning employment or consulting roles for Mr. Juskiewicz and Mr. Berryman.

Chapter 11 plan documents say Mr. Berryman is in line for a salary and bonus totaling $3.35 million and warrants for up to 2.25% of the reorganized Gibson. Mr. Juszciewicz gets a $2.1 million consulting fee deal, plus warrants for up to 2.25% of the post-bankruptcy company, under the proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan.

GSO and KKR are not the only lenders in the committee's cross hairs. A loan from Elavon Financial Services DAC, U.K. Branch, is also under investigation, according to the filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.
The committee wants to know why payments were accelerated under the Elavon loan, which was paid down swiftly from $60 million to $24 million in the lead-up to the bankruptcy.

However, the private-equity powerhouses are some of Gibson's largest lenders, court papers say.

Gibson owed GSO $74 million on a term loan at the time of the bankruptcy filing, while KKR Credit Advisors US LLC owns $198 million of Gibson's senior secured notes, and is providing $72 million of the chapter 11 financing, court papers say.

Manufacturer of the iconic Les Paul electric guitar, Gibson also makes instruments under a number of brand names including Dobro, Epiphone, Kramer and Tobias. The company also owns historic brands, including Slingerland drums and Wurlitzer pianos.

[Dave W]

KKR to Gibson Bidders: 'We Own the Company' Until Debt Is Repaid

Discord emerges between Gibson, creditors in bankruptcy proceedings

Gibson is pushing back in defense of its restructuring plan. According a July 23 filing, Gibson was "extensively ... marketed" prior to its Chapter 11 filing. Here's how the filing describes those results:

    "The market responded with only one 'bid.' ... In other words, the dozens of strategic and financial counterparties that the debtors ... have approached and provided diligence to (which included some of the largest financial institutions and distressed M&A players in the world, including GSO) all responded with unwillingness to underwrite an investment in the debtors that could satisfy the debtors' approximately $500 million of prepetition secured debt."

[Chris P.]

Joe Bonamassa said in an interview something like:

'No, I won't buy Gibson. What do you think a blues artist like me makes for a living a year? I can't afford it. I do know the people who will buy Gibson and they're great.'

Or similar words.

[planetgaffnet]

Discord emerges between Gibson, creditors in bankruptcy proceedings

Phopto ten from the slideshow on this page nreaks my heart.  Two Juniors.  I mean, how difficult would it have been to just do a rear rout and make these models correct?