The joint announcement doesn't detail any strategic directions for PreSonus going forward. The company was founded in 1995 by Jim Odom and Brian Smith with the goal to design innovative audio products that provide professional sound quality and features without sacrificing affordability. Throughout its history, PreSonus has built an extensive array of tools for musicians, content creators, producers, and audio engineers. The company expanded significantly in recent years with its ambitious software strategy, including key acquisitions which are probably going to be synergistic with Fender's scope of activities. In 2013, PreSonus acquired Notion music notation software, and Nimbit, a provider of direct-to-fan music services. But the large user community of the popular StudioOne DAW will not be optimistic in regard to the future of the platform - with the memory of similar acquisitions by the Gibson Group and Peavey, among many others having left an unfortunate trail.
Today, PreSonus is also an ambitious designer and manufacturer of professional audio products for the live sound and sound reinforcement markets, an area where it was relatively successful, particularly since the partnership with Fulcrum Acoustic to create a new line of PA speakers and studio monitors, announced in 2013. The first results of the cooperation with the company co-founded by David Gunness was a successful line of Sceptre coaxial studio reference monitors. In 2014, PreSonus expanded its ambitions in the sound reinforcement and sound installation markets with the acquisition of WorxAudio Technologies.
Strangely, the announcement of the acquisition agreement with Fender is described as a "merger," completion of which is subject to U.S. regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. At this time, Fender and PreSonus will continue to operate as separate entities. The announcement also says that "Fender envisions an ecosystem that seamlessly integrates hardware and software to create an effortless end-to-end experience for customers at all levels in their creative journey, and joining forces with PreSonus makes that possible."
“We are thrilled to welcome everyone on the PreSonus team to the FMIC family and excited about the future growth opportunities available to both companies," says Andy Mooney, CEO Fender Musical Instruments Corp. “Our teams share the same passion for music, the same commitment to innovation and the same desire to inspire and equip current and future generations of artists”
"After more than 25 years, PreSonus feels it has found the right partner to support us as we continue our growth,” says Jim Odom, Founder/CSO PreSonus. “We look forward to showing our current and future music community what this opportunity means for them.”
“I would like to extend our utmost gratitude to our loyal Baton Rouge and Louisiana community that have supported PreSonus for the last two decades,” says Kevin Couhig, Chairman of PreSonus. “It has been wonderful being a part of this incredible journey with PreSonus. I’m excited to see what the future holds going forward.”
“PreSonus and Fender's combined vision, the way we see the future of music creation, and the fundamental alignment of goals has made this an exciting idea since the first conversation," says Jim Boitnott, CEO PreSonus.
For more than 75 years, Fender has been manufacturing guitar, bass guitars, and instrument amplifiers, today combining a formidable group of musical instrument brands (including Gretsch, Jackson, EVH, Charvel and Bigsby) resulting from multiple acquisitions. The company's attempts to enter other product segment spaces, including portable PA or more recently professional in-ear monitors (with the acquisition of Aurisonics) was never successful.
The ambitious acquisition of PreSonus might be related with a more aggressive diversification strategy going forward, resulting from the fact that Fender itself (Fender Musical Instruments Corporation) was acquired by Servco Pacific - originally a car-repair shop in Hawai that expanded with car dealerships to become a large privately held company with over $1.8 billion in annual revenues. Being already a shareholder, Servco acquired all remaining shares from TPG Growth in early 2020, an equity investment company.
Servco has been involved in the musical instruments industry since 1937, and its relationship with Fender began as a dealer of its products in the 1950's. In 1985, Servco was part of the small investor group that backed industry icon, Bill Schultz, in the buyout of Fender from CBS. Over 25 years later, Servco increased its ownership with the purchase of Weston Presidio's stake in Fender. Through this acquisition, Servco sought to optimize the potential of the iconic music brand.
www.fender.com
www.presonus.com
