Storied guitar-maker Gibson Brands Inc., whose customers have included B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Jimmy Page, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday with a deal to hand control of the company, which has struggled with its debt load after a series of soured acquisitions, to bondholders led by private-equity giant KKR & Co.

The Nashville, Tenn.-based musical-instrument maker, founded in 1894, said the bankruptcy filing was prompted by looming debt maturities and the unsuccessful 2014 acquisition of Philips’s consumer-electronics business, in papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

“The decision to re-focus on our core business, musical instruments, combined with the significant support from our noteholders, we believe will assure the company’s long-term stability and financial health,” Chief Executive Henry Juszkiewicz said in prepared remarks. “Importantly, this process will be virtually invisible to customers.”

Gibson, which sells more than one-fifth of all the electric guitars bought world-wide, said it will continue to operate during the proceedings as it reorganizes in the face of $500 million in debt, some of which matures as early as this July.

The company blamed much of its recent financial struggles on its Hong Kong-based Gibson Innovations Ltd. division, a 2014 acquisition that sells Philips-branded consumer electronics such as headphones and speakers.