Gibson’s Credit Downgraded, Bankruptcy Predicted

Gibson Guitars and its related music companies got more bad news last week as top credit agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the companies already poor credit rating, making it even harder for the troubled company to find the money to continue.

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Standard & Poor's credit rating service is predicting that Gibson is headed towards bankruptcy.

“With multiple maturities looming and operating weakness ongoing, we believe Nashville-based Gibson Brands could default on its debt obligations over the next six months,” Standard & Poor’s said in a memo to clients. “We are lowering our corporate credit rating to ‘CCC-’ from ‘CCC’.”

Gibson has $145 million in outstanding bank loans that come due on July 23 and another $377 million in secured notes maturing on August 1.