diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_event.c b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_event.c
index db5bdc8addf8..c5e8b5343dbb 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_event.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_event.c
@@ -460,8 +460,11 @@ static int __hw_perf_event_init(struct perf_event *event)
 		if (atomic_read(&active_events) == 0) {
 			if (!reserve_pmc_hardware())
 				err = -EBUSY;
-			else
+			else {
 				err = reserve_bts_hardware();
+				if (err)
+					release_pmc_hardware();
+			}
 		}
 		if (!err)
 			atomic_inc(&active_events);