Gibson Filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Variety reported that Gibson Brands Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 1, 2018, “with a turnaround plan that will give some of the company’s lender’s equity ownership of the long-running guitar and musical equipment company that has become synonymous with classic rock and roll.”

Chairman and CEO of Gibson Brands, Henry Juszkiewicz, posted about this on Gibson’s Facebook page. He started the post with “Dear Friends:”

Yesterday, we made a significant announcement that marks the next phase of Gibson’s long and storied history. We are re-focusing the Company on the manufacturing of world-class, iconic musical instruments and the continued development of the global Gibson brand, by reorganizing around its core business in the Musical Instruments segment. Gibson has reached a Restructuring Support Agreement with its majority stakeholders that clears the way for the continued financing and operations of the musical instrument business.

To implement the agreement, the Company filed today to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in Wilmington, Delaware. This will allow our Company to continue to design, build, sell and manufacture Gibson’s legendary guitars and instruments without interruption.

Gibson included some important facts to know about the Chapter 11 process:

• Gibson Brands is not going out of business. The legal process is being used to implement a reorganization of the Musical Instruments division, not liquidation
• The filings do not change pricing, inventory, ordering, or delivery timing of our guitars, musical instruments and Pro Audio equipment.
• There will be no change to the quality of service and support our customers have come to expect from us.
• There will be no changes to our warranty and customer service policies.

In addition, Gibson posted a tweet that said: “Gibson filed yesterday to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code. This does NOT mean Gibson is going out of business. It means it is reorganizing its business to focus on guitars and musical instruments and becoming a stronger company in the process.”

Gibson also tweeted: “Rest assured, there will be no changes to our warranty and return policies and we are still making, selling and shipping the world’s most iconic guitars. Our relationship with you is important to us and we’re excited for what the future holds.” The tweet ended with #onlyagibsonisgoodenough