Tempur Sealy to Sell Sleep Outfitters, Mattress Firm Stores Amid FTC Takeover Challenge
By Dean Seal
Tempur Sealy International has reached a deal to sell dozens of Mattress Firm locations and the Sleep Outfitters retail chain to Mattress Warehouse as it works through a regulatory challenge to its planned acquisition of Mattress Firm.
The world's largest mattress supplier and manufacturer said Monday that it has entered into a purchase agreement with a Mattress Warehouse holding company that calls for the sale of 73 Mattress Firm retail locations and all 103 specialty mattress retail locations and seven distribution centers tied to the Sleep Outfitters subsidiary.
The divestiture plan is conditioned on the closing of Tempur Sealy's proposed $4 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm and was drawn up as part of Tempur Sealy's engagement with the Federal Trade Commission, Chief Executive Scott Thompson said.
The regulator said when it voted to block the deal in July that a vertical acquisition of Mattress Firm would widen Tempur Sealy's footprint considerably, allowing it to suppress competition and raise mattress prices for millions of customers.
"Through emails, presentations, and other deal documents, Tempur Sealy has made it abundantly clear that its acquisition of Mattress Firm is intended to kneecap competitors and dominate the market," said Henry Liu, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition.
Tempur Sealy maintains that Mattress Firm holds a small fraction of U.S. brick-and-mortar bedding stores.
The next round of hearings in the litigation process is scheduled to begin on Nov. 12. Tempur Sealy said Monday that it believes the process can be successfully completed in the coming months and that the transaction can still close in late 2024 or early next year.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 23, 2024 07:54 ET (11:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.-
Should Emerging-Markets Stocks Stand Alone in Your Portfolio?
-
What’s Happening in the Markets This Week
-
Worst-Performing Stock ETFs of the Quarter
-
Q3 in Review and Q4 2024 Market Outlook
-
Top-Performing Stock ETFs of the Quarter
-
September Jobs Report Forecasts Show Moderate Hiring Gains
-
Port Strike a Headache for Shippers but a Potential Tailwind for Certain US Transport Stocks
-
13 Charts on Q3′s Roller-Coaster Rally for Stocks and Bonds
-
3 Dividend Stocks for October 2024
-
Consumer Defensives: Despite Angst, Thirsty Investors Have Names to Pursue
-
Industrials: Many Stocks Overvalued After Q3 Outperformance
-
Basic Materials: Despite Index Rise, We See Multiple Long-Term Opportunities
-
What the Election Could Mean for Big Tech Stocks
-
3 Lessons From Recent Stock Market Drama
-
Consumer Cyclicals: Even Amid Moderating Consumer Spending, We See Discounts
-
Healthcare: Valuations Look Fair Overall, With Select Industries Still Undervalued