Bain Buys Out Guitar Center

Firm strums out $1.9B deal to take retailer private
By Greg Atwan,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2007 5:40 PM CDT
Bain Buys Out Guitar Center
The Guitar Center store is seen in a file photo from Feb. 17, 2004, on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. Guitar Center Inc., a retailer of musical instruments, agrees to be bought for about $1.9 billion in cash by private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)   (Associated Press)

Bain Capital sealed a deal today to buy out Guitar Center, a California-based retail chain specializing in musical instruments, for $1.9 billion. The deal was reached after a secret auction conducted by Goldman Sachs; the private equity firm has recently purchased a slew of publicly traded retailers. The final price of $63 a share represented a 26% premium on Guitar Center's price.

Guitar Center has more than 200 stores, and is the leading retailer of musical instruments in the US. Meanwhile, Bain's retail shopping spree is going international: Reuters reports that the Boston firm picked up Germany's largest yacht maker today as well. (More Bain Capital stories.)

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