Guitar Center to acquire The Woodwind & The Brasswind

Guitar Center has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of The Woodwind & The Brasswind.

The Woodwind & The Brasswind is a multichannel merchant of musical instruments and accessories for school bands. The company filed for bankruptcy protection Nov. 21 in Indiana, where it is based.

Guitar Center has agreed to acquire The Woodwind & The Brasswind's inventory, accounts receivable, trade names and certain other intangible assets. The deal could be overbid at a bankruptcy auction expected to take place in January.

Once completed, the deal is expected to expand Westlake Village, CA-based Guitar Center's already strong combo instrument business and build it's direct response band and orchestra business.

The Woodwind & The Brasswind's direct operations include the Web sites at www.wwbw.com and www.music123.com as well as the catalogs The Brasswind, Classroom/Elementary Music Products, Strings, Music123 Drum Catalog, Gifts of Note, Music 123 Catalog and Inspirational Pro Audio Visual. The company also has a retail store in South Bend, IN.