Simmons sighs in relief as deal announced

So now we know that those Serta-Simmons rumors were true, sort of.

The purchase agreement announced today between Simmons and an investor group led by Ares Management and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the owners of Serta, would dramatically change the face of the bedding landscape, sort of.

It will create a new No. 1 in the mattress world: Simmons plus Serta is almost $2 billion in sales, compared to $1.2 billion for Sealy, the way things stood at the end of last year.

But I’m sure you didn’t miss the point that Serta’s owners made about intending to operate Simmons and Serta as separate and distinct entities. There is more than a little skepticism about that claim in industry circles. Time, of course, will tell.

It’s also worth noting that the deal has not closed, and that the Federal Trade Commission’s review of the implications of the proposed transaction continues. Some believe the FTC will squash the deal. Again, time will tell.

For now, Simmons has to be pleased that it is finally moving toward the conclusion of a process that has dragged on for month after agonizing month. Uncertainty in business is usually not a good thing. Simmons took a big step forward in announcing the purchase agreement.

Source: www.furnituretoday.com

www.HowardsFurnitureandDecoratingCenter.com

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