Guitar maker Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, made famous by rock stars like Jimi Hendrix, (whose Woodstock Fender Stratocaster is pictured) is heading to the public markets on Nasdaq under the symbol FNDR.
The corporate venturing-backed US-based business filed for a $200m initial public offering yesterday. Its largest shareholders are Weston Presidio (42.92%), Yamano Music (14.2%), Kanda Shokai Corporation (12.85%), the trust of William Schultz, once called "the man who saved Fender" by news provider the Chicago Sun Times.
The company has distribution agreements in Japan with its corporate venturing shareholders, Kanda Shokai and Yamano, which it entered into after the termination of their joint venture, Fender Japan. Kanda Shokai has an agreement to buy at least $15m of Fender products annually, while Yamano is committed to buying $17.5m. A spokeswoman said: "Yamano has been a shareholder since 1985 and Kanda Shokai since 1988."
Guitar aficionados credit Fender Japan as producing some of the best post-1960s Fender guitars, which effectively revived some of the company’s vintage guitar products in the 1980s, according to one fan website. One guitar industry figure is quoted in this website, as saying: "Everybody came up to inspect the [Fender Japan guitars] and the guys almost cried, because the Japanese product was so good – it was what we had been having a hell of a time trying to do."
Yamano’s links to Fender stretch back to 1960s, while Kanda Shokai is widely credited as one of the driving forces in the development of Fender Japan by guitar aficionados.
Fender Electric Instrument Company was founded in 1946 by Leo Fender. In 1965, Leo Fender sold the business to Columbia Records Distribution Corp, part of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). The business was bought from Columbia by William Schultz and current Board member, William Mendello in a buyout in 1985.
The present flotation is being advised by US banks JP Morgan, William Blair, Baird Stifel Nicolaus Weisel and Wells Fargo. Fender said $100m of the proceeds would be used to pay down debt. The company had $700.6m in sales and had profit of $19m in 2011.
In 2002 Weston Presidio backed the company alongside Roland Corporation, a Japan-listed musical instrument and electronics company.