Posted on 08/06/2012 10:38:28 AM PDT by kingattax
Breaks my heart but Henry can't survive this gov onslaught...
I wooden fret about it.
If I ran Gibson, now that jail is off the table I’d go Galt ASAP.
Thanks for your posts 57 and 59.
Extortion. The wimps in congress will never hold hearings. The states need to act and start arresting these federal fascist thugs for sedition.
Breaks my heart but Henry can't survive this gov onslaught...
Gibson was already in financial trouble before any of these raids.
From a March 2010 Debtwire article:
[Gibson CEO Henry] Juszkiewicz earned widespread praise for rescuing the brand in the mid eighties with a hands-on approach, only to draw equally widespread criticism in recent years for his autocratic management style. The owner dissolved Gibson’s board of directors in 2008 and spent free cash flow on dividends and subsidiaries, even as he failed to report earnings and flirted with covenant breaches, four sources familiar with Gibson’s financial travails told Debtwire.So, while Gibson had been in financial trouble for two years, in April 2010 the Nashville floods hit Gibson big. Gibson was planning to relocate its facility from Opryland mills and had irreplaceable shaping molds for mandolins and banjos on pallets on the floor, not to mention wood. All of that - lost in the flood.While angry employees and retailers lack the leverage to change the CEO’s policies – including robot guitars, abandonment of small retailers and a revolving door of middle managers – Gibson’s lenders may force Juszkiewicz to play a different tune.
“This is a classic example of a company controlled by one individual,” said one of the sources familiar with the matter. “And with no independent board of directors and no public shareholders, the only mechanism that lenders have is the hammer of acceleration.”
Guitar dealers are equally critical. “In the guitar world, a lot of people are frustrated because they feel that [Juszkiewicz] has ruined the company because it’s all about his ego, not the guitars,” said a proprietor of an independent guitar store, who wished to remain anonymous. “Gibson and Fender [Music] are two American icons … and he is ruining one of those.”
The famed guitar maker violated terms on its USD 150m syndicated loan when it failed to deliver 2008 audited financials and is expected to show a breach of financial performance covenants for 2009 as covenant levels tightened, all of the sources said. The most recent forbearance of default expired in January and the company did not bother to extend it.
The only thing keeping lenders from accelerating on the debt is the IP value in Gibson’s brand, which is associated with high quality products and commands respect in the industry, all of the sources said.
Gibson didn't manufacture another mandolin until, I believe, January 2011. I know, because I purchased one of the Ten - the first ten mandolins made after the flood were custom-numbered F-5g models.
It's August 2012, and Gibson is stil not making Gibson banjos.
Gibson was in severe financial trouble for reasons unrelated to the government.
Both are sweet guitars. However, if you've never played one, I might suggest that you also try a J-45 and a Southern Jumbo.
Both the Hummingbird and Songwriter are square-shouldered dreadnaughts; the J-45 and the Southern Jumbo are round-shouldered.
Gibson built its acoustic guitar reputation on round-shouldered guitars (and the J-200). They simply have the distinct "Gibson Sound." The J-45 was introduced in 1942 and is Gibson's most famous and widely used acoustic guitar. It's nickname in the guitar world is "The Workhorse." The Southern Jumbo is essentially the same guitar, except with some Grand Ole Opry bling.
Early Bob Dylan is played on a J-45 or Southern Jumbo. All of the photos of John Lennon playing an acoustic guitar in India? He's playing Donovan Leitch's J-45.
The J-160s the Beatles player were essentially J-45s with electronics built in.
You'll enjoy a Hummingbird or a Songwriter, but they'll sound more like a generic dreadnaught. Any of the round-shouldered dreadnaughts, like the J-45, will have the distinctive "Gibson Sound."
Most of the money will find itself to the Obama campaigne I predict.
Agreed - when I saw “deal”, I knew this would involve money to d-rats
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