Who owns Guitar Center?

Guitar Center Holdings, Inc. confirmed as the current parent entity in a 2023 press release naming a new CEO.

Following the restructuring, Guitar Center added Brigade Capital Management and The Carlyle Group to its roster of owners, with Ares remaining as the original private equity sponsor.

Upon emergence from bankruptcy in December 2020, Ares Management, Brigade Capital Management, and The Carlyle Group collectively and indirectly own all of the common equity of Guitar Center.

The restructuring included $165 million in new equity from a fund managed by Ares Management Corporation, a fund managed by The Carlyle Group, and Brigade Capital Management.

Guitar Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2020 with a pre-negotiated restructuring plan backed by Ares Management (existing equity sponsor), Brigade Capital Management, and The Carlyle Group as new equity investors.

Guitar Center, Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered at 5795 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, California, and is the operating entity behind the retail brand; Guitar Center Holdings, Inc. is the parent holdco.

Bain Capital acquired Guitar Center in a ~$2.1 billion leveraged buyout on October 9, 2007, taking it private; Ares Management then took over as the equity sponsor in a 2014 debt restructuring.

Guitar Center is not publicly traded; it is privately held and exempt from public financial disclosures.

The bankruptcy restructuring board plan called for Ares Management, Brigade Capital, and CSP IV Acquisitions (Carlyle vehicle) each to nominate 3 members to the Guitar Center board.

As of late 2025/early 2026, analysts noted Guitar Center's PE owners were actively deleveraging and positioning the company as a potential IPO or sale candidate.