year, Activision partnered with Guitar Center; all purchases made during game play of Guitar Hero, beginning with the second installment, are made in a virtual Guitar Center store. In February 2007, the direct response division of Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, purchased assets of the Indiana-based company Dennis Bamber, Inc., which included leading band and orchestra retailer Woodwind & Brasswind, plus Music 123 and Lyons Music. On June 27, 2007, Guitar Center agreed to a $1.9 billion buyout from Bain Capital, totaling $2.1 billion including debt. The deal was led by Goldman Sachs and amounted to a per-share price of $63, or a 26% premium on the June 26 closing price. The deal was approved by shareholders on September 18, 2007, and closed October 9, 2007. In mid-2009 Guitar Center opened its first rehearsal and lessons studio facility in Woodland Hills, California. The eight studios with full backline range in size from . In 2011, Musician's Friend's headquarters operations were gradually consolidated into Guitar Center's facilities in Westlake Village, California. The same year, Guitar Center began offering equipment rentals in one of their San Diego, California stores. Guitar Center has since opened rental departments in ten other existing locations and plans to offer rental services in various other stores across the country. In May 2013, Standard & Poor's cut its debt rating on Bain Capital-owned Guitar Center Holdings Inc to "junk bond" status, citing struggles with "weak operating trends." The corporate credit rating on the company dropped from 'B−' to 'CCC+'. In April 2014, Ares Management took a controlling stake in Guitar Center. Bain Capital, Guitar Center's former owner, retained partial ownership of the company, along with representation on the board. According to Mike Pratt, the retailer's previous chief executive, the deal will reduce Guitar Center's total debt and provide it with the resources to expand its footprint and invest in its business. In August 2014, Guitar Center opened a new 28,000 square foot flagship location in the heart of Times Square in New York City. The grand opening included a celebratory concert featuring the band The Roots. The Guitar Center Times Square location is now the permanent home of Eric Clapton's Blackie Fender Stratocaster, which Guitar Center purchased at a Christie's Crossroads Centre auction in 2004 for $959,000. Due to the pandemic, and Guitar Center’s 2020 bankruptcy filing, the Times Square location is permanently closed. In April, 2017, Moody's Investors