Was Jere Haskew part of that group that he was referring to that bought Guild in '86?
Oh by golly, there it was in that Vintage Guitar interview.
I don't know much about Haskew except the name, no joking.
But you got my curiosity up and a Google of his name yields these excerpts from an article from
the Chattanoogan (I bolded pertinent points):
"Jerre went from showman to businessman and was executive vice president of Commerce Union Corporation in Nashville, and then the CEO at Commerce Union Bank in Chattanooga.
In 1986 he started a venture capital company called the Haskew Company.
Jerry dabbled in many business endeavors,
one of which he owned - Guild Guitars whose endorsees included Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and many other major artists.
Among his travels Jerre recalls meeting Johnny Cash on a plane. With the aid of the stewardess, Jerre seized the moment and sent information of his guitar company along with a note to the man in black, who was sitting in first class.
A few moments later, the young lady told Jerre that Mr. Cash would like to see him. As he pulled back the curtain to first class, Jerre was asked to sit down next to the celebrity. Johnny stretched out his hand and said “Hello, Jerre …I’m Johnny Cash.” In that surreal moment, Jerre conducted a business deal with the icon.
“Johnny said to me, ‘You are right, I should be playing an American made guitar. Are these guitars as good as you say they are?’ and I said, ‘Yes sir, they are.’ He asked if I could do one in cherry-sunburst and I said, ‘Yes, and that would look really good against your black outfits.’ Then he said, ‘Yeah, two great minds think alike, don’t they Jerre?’”
Two months later, Jerre was invited to the Cash residence. He took the guitars made especially for Johnny to Hendersonville and, as he walked in, he saw pictures of Billy Graham and Presidents gilding the walls.
“He loved the guitars and I spent half the day with him. He made me feel like I was the important one - he was that special of a man. He played those guitars for seven years exclusively,” Jerre asserts.
So it looks to me like he was either he was part of the original group with Gruhn or was the "individual" Gruhn mentions who bought that group out, if not
both.