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| Servco Pacific |
The acquisition is targeted to close in February 2020, subject to certain closing conditions.
On an operational level, all will remain the same; Fender will continue with the same exceptional management team who all have been instrumental in our recent growth.
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Servco is the acronym for the Servco Pacific Incorporated.
Mark Fukunaga, Chairman and CEO of Servco added, “Servco is proud of what Fender has accomplished,” .
Servco has been involved in the musical instruments industry since 1937, and its relationship with Fender began as a dealer of its products in the 1950’s.
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| William 'Bill' Shultz |
Over 25 years later, Servco increased its ownership with the purchase of Weston Presidio’s stake in Fender. Through this acquisition, Servco sought to optimize the potential of this iconic music brand and selected TPG Growth as an equal partner in this journey.
Fukunaga added "Servco has a 100-year track record that includes stewarding iconic brands through committed, long-term partnerships that span multiple generations. We look forward to deepening our relationship with Andy and the Fender team that will prove beneficial to our community of artists around the world.”
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| Leo Fender at the Fullerton factory |
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By 1949, the amplifiers he was building began to make their mark on the music industry.
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| 1950 Fender Broadcaster |
It was during 1950, Fender introduced a single pickup electric guitar, which was originally called The Broadcaster. The electronics in this instrument were based on the lap steels that Fender was manufacturing.
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| 1951 Fender Telecaster |
Later that year, the guitar had been revamped to a two-pickup model, and renamed The Telecaster.
In 1951, Fender closed the repair shop, to concentrate on electric guitar and amplifier manufacturing.
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It was this same year, the Precision Bass was created and offered to the public. The Fender Bassman amplifier was created to go along with the instrument.
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| 1954 Fender Stratocaster |
By 1954 the Fender Stratocaster was introduced as an improvement over the Telecaster. Both instruments went on to become icon.
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| 1960 Jazz Bass |
In 1960, Fender created the Jazz Bass, with twin pickups and a slimmer neck profile than the Precision Bass.
In 1959 Fender had 100 employees. Five years later, in 1964, Fender had 600 employees.
Due to health issues, in 1965, Leo Fender decided to sell his company for $1.5 million dollars to employee Don Randall. Because Randall could not come up with the money, he sought another buyer..
On January 5th of 1965, CBS , Columbia Broadcasting Systems purchased the company for $13 million.
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| Pre CBS & Post CBS Pickguards |
There were some questions about quality to the point the Forest White, Leo's friend and former Fender Vice President, quit the company.
CBS was all about business, and cost cutting. Fender hired three top executives from the music branch of The Yamaha Corporation; Dan Smith, John McLaren, and William Shultz to help turn the companies reputation around.
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| 1982 'Dan Smith' Stratocaster |
Within a year Shultz shut down much of the production, except for high-end classic guitars and basses citing the fact, "We thought the company could make Telecasters, and Stratocaster the way they used to make them, but we were wrong".
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| 1983 Squier Stratocaster |
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| William Shultz |
By 1985 a group of investors led by William Shultz purchased the rights to the Fender brand for $12.5. This acquisition did not include Fender patents, machinery, or facilities.
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In 1987 Fender, now known as (the) Fender Musical Instrument Company or FMIC, opened up a Custom Shop manufacturing facility in Corona, California.
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| Fender Ensenada Factory |
That same year another site was opened in the Mexican state of Baja California in the town of Ensenada which at first built amplifier cabinets, but later began manufacturing the MIM (made in Mexico) guitars, which are of excellent quality.
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| Fender Corona, California |
In 1998 a new larger state of the art facility was opened in Corona, California. This plant currently produces 350 guitars a day.
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| Andy Mooney |
William Shultz retired in 2005, and Andy Mooney took over as CEO. Mr. Shultz' goal was to keep FMIC as a privately held company.
In 2012, Fender offered an IPO, but quickly withdrew the offer. Instead shares were offered to a private equity firm on July 10, 2012.
The majority shareholders of Fender were the private equity firm of Weston Presidio (43%), Japanese music distributors Yamano Music (14%) and Kanda Shokai (13%), and Servco Pacific (5%).
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| TPG Private Equity Firm |
In December 2012, TPG Growth (the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG Capital) and Servco Pacific took control of the company after acquiring the shares held by Weston Presidio.
And as of January 2020, Servco Pacific became the majority owner after acquiring the shares of TPG Growth. I understand the current management will remain in place, and it is reported that nothing will change.
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| Chicago Musical Instrument Company |
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The company was within three months of going out of business when it was bought by Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman, and Gary A. Zebrowski in January 1986.
By May of 2018, Gibson filed for bankruptcy protection, then it was acquired in October of that same year by the current owners.
Guild Guitars began as a private concern, but in 1965 the company was acquired by the Avnet Corporation, which manufactured automobile radios and other electronic parts.
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| Guild Guitars |
Later manufacturing was moved to New Hartford, Connecticut after Fender acquired Kaman/Ovation guitars.
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| Cordoba Guitars |
I wish all the best for Servco and their majority acquisition of FMIC, and I hope that future years will be wonderful. History frightens me.
Click on the links under the pictures for sources. Click on the links in the text for further information.
©UniqueGuitar Publications 2020 (text only)
5 comments:
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Step into the harmonious world of musical industry news as we explore the recent acquisition of the iconic Fender Musical Instrument Corporation. In this blog, we dissect the details of this significant move, uncovering the implications for both the music industry and passionate Fender enthusiasts.
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