There’s been talk of bankruptcy swirling around Gibson, the venerated Nashville-based guitar company, which takes in more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue but is more than $500 million in debt. Buzzards are circling. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the private equity giant, is a bondholder. Blackstone is also a major lender.

Gibson’s problems are not hard to diagnose. The company’s longtime chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, wanted to diversify by turning Gibson into what he has called a “music lifestyle company” — basically a consumer electronics business that sells headphones and hi-fis as well as guitars. He made a splashy purchase of the audio and home entertainment division of Netherlands-based Royal Philips in 2014, and then ran headlong into the collapse of the euro.

It was a disaster. Mr. Juszkiewicz, in an interview, didn’t sugarcoat it. “No, it wasn’t a great decision,” he said. “It didn’t work out very well. I think it was a rational decision, but it turned out to be a very poor decision, and it’s a decision I made. It is what it is.”

Mr. Juszkiewicz sticks to his broader vision for Gibson, which includes lower-priced brands like Epiphone and Kramer. Nike has been his model. He said he realized that, “like Nike, you couldn’t just sell to track guys, you had to sell to regular consumers.”

This would be the same Nike that makes overrated and overpriced crappy shoes that real runners avoid? Now I see the problem FFS.

Hate to see the guy's 30 year legacy go up in smoke, but yeah, bad move. Don't see many happy endings when private equity gets involved.

I'm an Epiphone loyalist. Would that be ironic if Epi bought up the tattered remains of their former oppressor.