Big Serta licensees complete merger
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 2, 2003
Itasca, Ill. — Serta's two largest licensees have completed their merger, creating a new powerhouse in Serta and in the bedding industry.
The transaction combines Sleepmaster, formerly Serta's largest licensee, which had been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and National Bedding Co. into a new company, National Bedding L.L.C., with estimated U.S. sales in 2002 of $584 million.
National Bedding, based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., had been Serta's second-largest licensee. The new company easily becomes the largest Serta licensee and owns about 79% of Serta's outstanding common stock.
National Bedding L.L.C. now owns and operates 19 Serta plants and has 27 licensed manufacturing territories in the United States.
"Serta is in a great position right now to grow and be more competitive than ever," said Ed Lilly, Serta's president and chief executive officer. "Historically, NBC has been among Serta's most profitable and aggressive businesses and they have built their success on quality products and service to their customers. National Bedding L.L.C. is well equipped to provide outstanding continuity in service and quality for Serta customers throughout the United States."
Richard Yulman and Burt Kaplan serve as co-chairmen of the new entity and Robert Sherman is president. All have been key executives of NBC.
Sherman has said NBC aims to improve Serta's operations.
"Under the new structure, we plan to leverage the skill and experience of our management team to improve every aspect of Serta's operations to achieve long-term financial stability," Sherman said recently. "Our goal is to increase sales and market share, and to enhance our relationships with our retail customers."
National Bedding Co. had net sales in 2001 of $234.9 million and operating income of $31.2 million.
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