Simmons shelves IPO, citing market
Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, June 27, 2005
Atlanta — Bedding major Simmons Co. has dropped efforts to go public, withdrawing a registration statement it filed last year with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company said the withdrawal was made "due to market conditions and for strategic reasons."
The No. 2 bedding producer filed the registration statement in June 2004, and had hoped to raise as much as $345 million from an initial public offering of stock.
Simmons recorded sales of $869.9 million in 2004, a 7.9% jump from the previous year, but is coming off a tough 2005 first quarter marked by sluggish sales of its new HealthSmart beds, which feature a removable, washable mattress top.
Sales in the first quarter fell 7.9% to $205.6 million. The company eked out a profit of $483,000 in the quarter, compared with net income of $3.97 million in last year's first quarter.
In response, Simmons has made numerous changes to its product line in recent weeks, and the revamped models should be on retail floors by the end of June.
In late 2003, Simmons was acquired by affiliates of Thomas H. Lee Partners for $1.1 billion.
