Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain would have shot himself twice if he’d known that in 18 years time his photo would be at the top of an initial public offer filing. Luckily his date with the suits has been postponed as Fender pulled its $150m IPO on Thursday.
The maker of fretted instruments as well as amplifiers, drums and bongos blamed poor market conditions. Economic weakness was listed as a risk in the regulatory document.
But Palo Alto Networks and Kayak had successful IPOs last week. Perhaps there are other reasons why Fender pulled the plug. Its filing also cited as risks the popularity of music featuring guitars and drums, music and song sales generally, as well as the ability to entice young Yngwie Malmsteens to play guitar in the first place.
Perhaps a soggy global economy is also becoming quieter.
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