Gibson Brands Inc., along with eleven subsidiaries and affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-11025). Gibson, a Nashville, TN-based music equipment company, is most famous for its iconic guitars, including the Les Paul and the Flying V. According to the First Day Declaration, Gibson has filed a result of a debt overhang and the headwinds Gibson’s consumer electronics business has faced since being acquired in a highly leveraged transaction in 2014. According to a press release issued by Gibson, Gibson enters Chapter 11 having entered into a restructuring support agreement with an Ad Hoc group of its Senior Secured Noteholders, who will also backstop and fund a $135 million debtor-in-possession financing facility sufficient to take out Gibson’s pre-petition secured lenders and provide Gibson with funding throughout the Chapter 11 case. The DIP Motion and Plan have not yet been filed. Prime Clerk is the proposed claims and noticing agent. The cases have been assigned to the Honorable Christopher S. Sontchi.
Contact Norman L. Pernick or G. David Dean for more information regarding this matter. Please note, however, that Cole Schotz P.C. does not represent the debtors in these cases and cannot respond to questions directed toward the debtors.