Fender has a new majority owner

After a decade of joint ownership Fender is about to enter a new era. Servco Pacific Inc. (Servco) and TPG Growth have entered into a sale and purchase agreement – Servco will acquire TPG’s shares in the company to secure a majority stake in the company.

 “Fender has enjoyed nearly a decade of sustained growth under the joint ownership of Servco and TPG Growth," says Fender Musical Instrument Corp's Andy Mooney. "We thank TPG Growth for their contribution on multiple levels, both strategic and tactical, and for their support to expand into digital products and services.” 

Andy Mooney has been Fender's CEO since 2015 

Andy Mooney has been Fender's CEO since 2015  (Image credit: Fender)

There's no need for any panic though, as the day to day running of Fender will remain the same. 

“Fender will continue with the same exceptional management team who all have been instrumental in our recent growth," adds Mooney. "We look forward to extending FMIC’s long term relationship with Servco who share our core mission to support artists and players at every stage in their musical journey.”

More Fender

Servco isn't new to the instrument business – and its involvement with Fender goes way back. It has been involved in the MI industry since 1937, and began was a dealer of Fender products in the 1950s. It was even one of the investors that backed Bill Schultz in the buyout of Fender from CBS in 1985.

Rob Laing
Reviews Editor, GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars

Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.