South African Retail Giant Steinhoff Buying Sleepy’s Owner Mattress Firm For $3.8B

Image courtesy of RetailByRyan95

Two big names are going to bed with each other, though one of them you may not be as familiar with: South African retailer Steinhoff — known as “Africa’s Ikea” — is buying America’s largest specialty bedding retailer Mattress Firm, for $3.8 billion.

That price tag includes debt, the companies said. Steinhoff said it has agreed to pay about $64 per share, a premium of around 115% to Mattress Firm’s close on Friday, CNBC notes. The deal — which has been approved by the boards of both companies — will create the largest mattress retail distribution company in the world.

Mattress Firm has about 3,000 stores across the contiguous U.S., and 80 distribution centers. Sleepy’s was the second-largest specialty mattress retailer in the U.S. with more than 1,050 stores in 17 states when Mattress Firm acquired its holding company, HMK Mattress, in December 2015 in a deal worth about $780 million.

With this union, Steinhoff will be able to branch out across the pond. It currently owns brands in Africa, Australia, the U.K., and across Europe.

The agreement “will allow Steinhoff to not only enter the U.S. market with an industry leading partner and a national supply chain, but it will also expand Steinhoff’s global market reach in the core product category of mattresses,” Markus Jooste, chief executive officer of Steinhoff said.

The deal is expected to be put to bed in the third quarter.

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