Onkyo Corporation, parent of the Onkyo, Integra, and Pioneer AV brands, is expanding its OEM business unit to help build its business and offset losses it has experienced over the last five years, according to a report by the Nikkei in Japan. Investors are said to be skeptical of the move, but the company is targeting the automotive segment in India where they expect to see significant growth.
Onkyo
Gibson Investment Gone, Onkyo Sells Off European Operations
In Restructuring, Company Scales Back to ‘Core Competencies’
All the way back in 2012, Onkyo Corp. and Gibson Guitar Corp. came together to partner in what both hoped would become an entity where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. Just months after their announcement, Onkyo forged ties to another Japanese audio brand, Teac/Tascam – just as Gibson stepped in to buy a majority share of them…and the combined entity began to grow.
Little did they know that just six short years later, Gibson, the investor in Onkyo, would implode into bankruptcy – forced to extricate itself from its Onkyo aspirations. Onkyo was hit as well, losing its Gibson investment – forcing them to reassess their direction. We now learn that Onkyo has sold off its entire European operations to an accessory distributor known as Aqipa GmbH.
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Docs Show Gibson Bankruptcy Bigger Than You Think
Founded in 1894, it is a mark of their long-term brand success that Gibson has become such a large and far-flung international organization. In a cursory review of documents submitted to the court as part of their bankruptcy filing shows, legendary performers such as Muddy Waters, BB King, Elvis Presley, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, Duane Allman, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Slash, Dave Grohl, Joe Bonamassa all used various Gibson products that, in some cases, became a signature of that performer. And yes, the bankruptcy filing promotes these iconic names.
But from these Gibson filings, we’ve learned so much more… [Read more…] about Docs Show Gibson Bankruptcy Bigger Than You Think
TCL Multimedia Obtains Global Rights to Onkyo Brand
In an announcement out of Hong Kong and reported on by Bloomberg News and others, TCL Multimedia, the large Chinese manufacturer of mostly inexpensive televisions, has announced it has obtained the rights to the Onkyo brand name which it intends to use to create Smart AV products. The company says it has the rights to the Onkyo brand globally, in all markets except Japan.
See more on what we know about this TCL Multimedia and Onkyo partnership… [Read more…] about TCL Multimedia Obtains Global Rights to Onkyo Brand
Options Narrowing as Gibson & KKR Talks Fail
We learned last week that talks between Gibson Brands and deal making king KKR Credit Advisors fell apart in a dispute over “the appropriate consideration for the various parties involved,” according to a statement from Gibson Brands. As yet another bail-out opportunity slips by them, Gibson Brands sees their options narrowing, with an August deadline on a required financial restructuring of more than $500 million of debt rapidly approaching.
See more on this dire situation at Gibson Brands… [Read more…] about Options Narrowing as Gibson & KKR Talks Fail
Gibson, After Light Pruning, Plans Global Layoffs
Hundreds of Employees Facing Pink Slips
Gibson Brands, a major provider of musical instrument and consumer electronics products, is in the midst of a widely reported liquidity crisis. With more than $500 million dollars in notes coming due late this summer, the company is seeking a knight in shining armor to ride in on a white horse with a big bag of money to refinance the company’s crushing debt.
To make the company appear attractive to a lender or investor, at the end of February the company sold off its shuttered Cakewalk division and laid off about 15 employees from its famous Custom Shop. Now we learn the company is planning more substantial layoffs across the board.
See more on this latest development at Gibson… [Read more…] about Gibson, After Light Pruning, Plans Global Layoffs
Gibson Sells One Division & Cuts Staff in Another
The news and events surrounding troubled guitar and consumer electronics company Gibson Brands, Inc. seem to be moving at a rapid pace with almost daily revelations as the company struggles to survive ahead of a massive debt due-date just a few short months away. We learned over the last few days that Gibson has sold their recently shuttered Cakewalk Inc. division and laid off staff in their famous Custom Shop operation.
See more about the continued dramatic developments surrounding Gibson… [Read more…] about Gibson Sells One Division & Cuts Staff in Another
CEO Says Gibson Will Dump Brands
Financials Show Sales & Profits Continue to Slide
Gibson Brands CEO Henry Juszkiewicz continues to profess confidence that the company will be able to successfully refinance their over $500 million debt before a mid-year maturation comes due. Telling the Nashville Post that the company is going through a little “spring cleaning,” Juszkiewicz says the company already dropped their Cakewalk music software group, and other brands in their portfolio are next to go. But a financial report to bondholders shows continued deterioration of both sales and profits, suggesting that simply pruning a few brands from the portfolio may not be enough to attract new investors or lenders.
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Gibson Stuns the Music World, Shuts Down Cakewalk
Acquired in 2013, Cakewalk was Killed for Philips, Gibson Says
In what many in the industry are suggesting is yet another indicator of struggles at Gibson Brands, the company announced a little over a week ago that it would wind down operations at Cakewalk Inc., a popular music creation software company it owns. Music industry-centric websites around the internet exploded with largely critical coverage of the move, and comments on Cakewalk’s website are decidedly negative – both sad and angry – as customers seek to process the shocking news.
See more on yet another move by struggling Gibson…
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Is Gibson Brands Headed for a Default?
Moody’s Hits Gibson Brands with Another Credit Downgrade
Moody’s Investors Service, one of the largest credit rating services in the world, has downgraded the credit rating for Gibson Brands, the Nashville-based parent of Gibson Guitar, Onkyo, Teac, KRK, Philips, Stanton and more. Moody’s has set their rating on Gibson Brands debt to Caa3, down one step from Caa2.
The move caused Wall Street investment analyst The Street to raise the specter of the possibility of Gibson Brands defaulting on their debt.
