This past week, Fender canceled their planned IPO. USA Today is reporting the reason as uncertain market conditions:
Fender CEO Larry Thomas said current market conditions and Europe’s ongoing economic woes wouldn’t support an IPO that values the company appropriately.
I’m glad to see them pull this back, for now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try this again in the future, but I’d personally like to see Fender remain a private company.