Guitar Center Inc. sold new bonds to help pay for some of its old debt as it fights to stay afloat during the pandemic with its stores shut, Bloomberg News reported. The largest U.S. retailer of musical instruments and equipment sold about $32.5 million of new senior secured notes with a 10 percent coupon due 2022 to holders of its existing first-lien notes, according to people with knowledge of the arrangement. The company used the proceeds to pay the coupon on its existing first-lien notes due 2021. Guitar Center has fulfilled debt payments it skipped last month, ensuring it will stave off a default, Bloomberg reported. As part of the transaction, it exchanged $7 million of remaining senior unsecured notes due 2020 for about $5 million of previous first-lien notes.
