What's a Fender Worth These Days? Maybe About $400 Million...

Posted by Jim Burger on Jul 13, 2012

So Fender is getting ready for its IPO! Let's wish them good luck, it's a real testament to the brand that Fender has been such a strong brand for such a long time. The musical instruments industry has seen a lot of ups and downs over the last decade or so, what with the decline of guitar-based music, the rise of cheap Chinese imports, the economic downturn and the systematic dismantling of MI retail by Amazon.com. Fender has been one of few constants throughout all of this.

Apparently the valuation they are being given puts the company's value at $395 million, which is not so impressive at half of annual sales, but seems quite aggressive when you consider that it is 20 times last year's profits. I'm no analyst, so I'll let brighter minds decide whether this means it's a good buy or not. But I certainly wish them all the best in their future endeavors as a public company. Rock on, Fender!

Source: http://www.guitarworld.com/going-public-fenders-ipo-set-13-15