Posted on 06/09/2004 7:16:12 PM PDT by NYC GOP Chick
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fender Musical Instruments, which has made guitars for generations of rock legends, denied media reports on Wednesday that it had hired financial advisors to find a buyer for the company.
The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the situation, said on Wednesday that Goldman Sachs has been hired to sell the legendary guitar company, which could draw bids of up to $500 million.
Reuters later ran a similar story, citing a source close to the situation.
But Fender Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Schultz, who participated in a buyout of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company by U.S. private equity firm Weston Presidio in 1985, denied those reports in a terse statement released late Wednesday.
"I want to make sure that you hear this straight from me; this article is completely erroneous, and FMIC is not for sale," he said. "From time to time, FMIC conducts a valuation process to determine the current financial state of the company. This is something it has done over the years, and something it will continue to do periodically."
Schultz said the company's current owners remained "intact" and would continue to do so,
Indeed it is!
How many times has it been bought and sold since Leo Fender owned it?
Didn't CBS Buy it from Leo, who then started another Co. called... I forget now.... awww...
I believe G&L. They make great guitars BTW.
None-the-less, the soul of Leo Fender is alive and well at G & L guitars (the L stands for Leo)
The little ole blues guy from Oak Cliff. He died too young.
The Sky Is Cryin......
You don't need an excuse to post a picture of the legend!
Clarence Leo Fender came into the world on August 10, 1909, at the family ranch in California. His parents ran a succesful orange grove, located between the cities of Anaheim and Fullerton. Leo became interested in electronics around age 13, most likely from his uncle, who had built a radio from parts.
Leo began dismantling and repairing radios himself as a hobby, never afraid to tinker with electronics to see what the result would be. In 1928, Leo enrolled in junior college as an accounting major. Leo was sharpening the business acumen that would serve him well throughout his career.
Two events in the early 1930's would change Leo's life. One was when, in the early 1930's, he was approached by a bandleader to construct a PA system for use at dances. The second, around the same time, was when Leo met Esther Klosky. Esther became Mrs. Leo Fender in 1934.
Trying the safe route first, Leo hired on with the State of California as an accountant. In 1938, he took a chance and opened the Fender Radio Service in downtown Fullerton. Soon, musicians began coming to Leo in search of improved guitars and amplifiers. Fender began K & F Manufacturing with fellow inventor Doc Kauffman (who designed guitars for Rickenbacker) in a shed behind the radio shop where, in 1945, he unveiled his first electric guitar.
In 1946, Leo opened the Fender Electric Instrument Company in Fullerton. It was there that he created the legendary Telecaster and Stratocaster — arguably, the most popular and successful guitar designs in history.
Fender moved the small factory to 500 S. Raymond Ave. in Fullerton, and, in 1965, sold it to CBS Musical Instruments.
Although, by his own admission, he "could not play a note," Fender went on to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Country Music halls of fame — recognition of the tremendous impact he had on contemporary society through his musical inventions.
After the non-competition clause expired in the CBS sale agreement, Leo began designing guitars and basses for Music Man. The Sting Ray and Sabre are two Fender designs. In the 1980s, Leo opened the G&L business on Fender Avenue (named for him) in Fullerton. He continued to work there every day until his death on March 21, 1991, from complications from Parkinson's Disease.
Outstanding!! Thanks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.