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Instrument chain buys catalog and Internet retailer
AGOURA HILLS, CALIF. - Guitar Center is adding a new voice to its retail chorus.
Guitar Center, the nation's largest musical instrument superstore retail chain, is acquiring the privately held Musician's Friend Inc. of Medford, Ore., in an all-stock transaction valued at $50 million.
Musician's Friend is one of the leading catalog and Internet retailers of musical instruments and related equipment. The deal also includes nine Musician's Friend retail stores.
The combined company will be the nation's largest multi-channel retailer of musical instruments with 61 retail stores, a combined mailing list of 4 million customers and two distribution/fulfillment centers. The company will operate under the Guitar Center name and will be headquartered in Agoura Hills, Calif.
Guitar Center plans to keep the Musician's Friend name for the catalog and Internet operations plus operate it as a separate business,...