Dive Brief:
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Sleep Country, the largest mattress retailer in Canada, will acquire U.S. mattress retailer Sleep Number for $702 million, including nearly $530 million in cash.
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The transaction, which the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York approved Monday, is expected to close in about 10 days, according to court documents.
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Sleep Number filed for bankruptcy last month with an agreement with Sleep Country already in hand. The Canadian company’s original offer was about $415 million.
Dive Insight:
An investment earlier this year from Taylor Swift’s now-husband, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, couldn’t keep Sleep Number out of bankruptcy court.
Saying he has “personally relied on” the adjustability of Sleep Number’s mattresses, Kelce in January became one of the mattress maker’s top shareholders with under 5% company ownership. He acquired common stock on the open market and was granted compensatory restricted stock units, and Sleep Number at that point also announced that Kelce would be featured in its advertising for the next three years.
An effort to introduce fresh inventory also wasn’t enough to stem the declines, and this year Sleep Number’s sales continued to fall, losses to widen and market share to shrink.
Still, Sleep Country Canada CEO Stewart Schaefer in a statement noted the innovation at the U.S. mattress manufacturer and retailer, which boasts more than 1,000 patents and patents pending.
"This is a game-changing acquisition," Schaefer said.
Sleep Number runs over 570 stores in the U.S. and Sleep Country runs over 300 stores under the banners Sleep Country Canada, Dormez-vous, Endy, Silk & Snow, Hush, Casper Canada and Simba. Following their tie-up, the company will be the second-largest sleep retailer in the world, after Somnigroup International.