Mattress Giant Divests to Address Competition Concerns

  • Tempur Sealy sells dozens of Mattress Firm locations and Sleep Outfitters retail chain
  • Deal with Mattress Warehouse holding company
  • Conditioned on the closing of Tempur Sealy’s proposed $4 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm
  • FTC raised concerns over potential market domination and price hikes

Tempur Sealy, the world’s largest mattress supplier and manufacturer, has agreed to sell dozens of Mattress Firm locations and the Sleep Outfitters retail chain to Mattress Warehouse as it navigates regulatory challenges surrounding its planned $4 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm. The deal with a Mattress Warehouse holding company includes 73 Mattress Firm retail locations, all 103 specialty mattress retail locations, and seven distribution centers tied to the Sleep Outfitters subsidiary. This divestiture plan is contingent on the completion of Tempur Sealy’s proposed acquisition of Mattress Firm and was developed in response to concerns raised by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC had expressed concern that the acquisition would significantly expand Tempur Sealy’s market presence, potentially suppressing competition and raising mattress prices for millions of customers. Tempur Sealy maintains that Mattress Firm represents a small fraction of U.S. brick-and-mortar bedding stores. The company believes the transaction can still close in late 2024 or early next year.

Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate information about Tempur Sealy’s plan to sell dozens of Mattress Firm locations and the Sleep Outfitters retail chain as part of its acquisition deal with Mattress Warehouse. It also mentions the reason behind this decision, which is related to a regulatory challenge from the Federal Trade Commission. The article quotes Henry Liu from the FTC’s Bureau of Competition and provides Tempur Sealy’s perspective on the situation. However, it lacks some details about the acquisition value and the exact timeline for the transaction.
Noise Level: 5
Noise Justification: The article provides some relevant information about Tempur Sealy’s plan to sell Mattress Firm locations and Sleep Outfitters retail chain as a response to regulatory challenges. However, it lacks in-depth analysis or exploration of the consequences of this decision on consumers and competition in the market. It also does not offer any actionable insights or new knowledge for readers.
Public Companies: Tempur Sealy International (TPX)
Private Companies: Mattress Firm,Sleep Outfitters,Mattress Warehouse
Key People: Scott Thompson (Chief Executive), Henry Liu (Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition)


Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: Tempur Sealy, Mattress Firm, and Mattress Warehouse
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses the sale of Mattress Firm locations and Sleep Outfitters retail chain by Tempur Sealy to Mattress Warehouse as part of its acquisition deal, which impacts the financial markets and companies involved.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no extreme event mentioned in the article and it does not discuss any recent events that happened in the last 48 hours.
Deal Size: 73
Move Size: No market move size mentioned.
Sector: Technology
Direction: Down
Magnitude: Large
Affected Instruments: Stocks

Reported publicly: www.wsj.com www.marketwatch.com