In a letter “To our friends and representatives all over the world”, dated with this day, Walter Günther tells Steinway & Sons dealers, workers and the music instrument making industry that “the family council has come to the decision to accept an offer from the CBS […] to merge with them in order to ensure that also in the future the Steinway pianos will keep their dominant position”. (Ironically, as the nearest future will show, the result of the merger will be exactly opposite.) Walter Günther names the aging of Steinway brothers and lack of interest in pianomaking among the members of next Steinway family generation as the reasons for selling Steinway & Sons to CBS.