Guitar maker Fender Musical Instruments Corp canned plans for an initial public offering [IPO] a day before the guitar manufacturer was to make its market debut due to current uncertainty in the global financial markets.
Fender’s guitars have been used by a wide range of rock stars such as Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen, and it had previously filed an offering of up to $200m in March. The company would have been looking to sell 10.71m common shares at between $13 and $15 each.
Fender’s largest shareholders are venture firm Weston Presidio (42.92%), and Japan-based corporations 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. A spokeswoman said in March: “Yamano has been a shareholder since 1985 and Kanda Shokai since 1988.”
According to Forbes, the Arizona-based company was hoping to have around 26.4 million shares outstanding, giving Fender a value of roughly $395m.
Investment banks JP Morgan, William Blair, Baird, Stifel Nicolaus Weisel and Wells Fargo Securities were underwriters to the offering.
Fender chief executive Larry Thomas said in a statement, “Current market conditions and concerns about economic conditions in Europe do not support completing an initial public offering at what we believe to be an appropriate valuation at this time.”
Fender joins a growing number of companies that have withdrawn their IPO filings this year, as a rocky Facebook debut has shaken confidence, and consistently volatile markets have made it increasingly difficult to accurately price the debuts.